


rite of passage

by xShieru



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Family, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Implied Relationships, Law-centric, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Multi, Near Death Experiences, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2018-12-24 09:32:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 74,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12009933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xShieru/pseuds/xShieru
Summary: Trafalgar D. Water Law is six when a complete stranger tells him that he is “special”. That he is something called a wizard.-The story of a lonely kid with questionable morals constantly finding new reasons to live for.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> dang here comes that hp au  
> o shit, doodles doom me
> 
> the story of a brat that overlooks all 7 years of hogwarts and then some. gonna end up being really lengthy so buckle up guys. also i'm bending the universe a little so don't mind the inaccuracies

Trafalgar D. Water Law is six years old when he loses his biological family.

 _They_ arrive in the middle of the night, dressed head-to-toe in black robes and appearing seemingly out of thin air with appalled looks frozen on their stony faces – a weak reaction to the horrifying sight that greets them. The figures emotionlessly take in the countless motionless bodies littering the empty streets as though these poor people died where they stood, simultaneously struck by powerful heart attacks. Law knows this statement to be not too far off the truth, being the sole survivor of what once was a peaceful village called Flevance, located quite some ways off civilization and surrounded by woods too dense and confusing to thread if you weren’t a local. The nature is the sole reason why it takes _Them_ two solid days to find out about Flevance’s tragic fate – the electricity lines were cut, the communication devices ceased to work and people couldn’t call out for help. Those who tried fell one by one, twitching and struggling to inhale their final breaths as death took them by the hand.

A day later into what will soon be referred to as the White Plague tragedy, Trafalgar is the only one left standing – even though it can hardly be called that. He has absolutely no physical or mental strength to leave his dying sister’s bedside to find some unlikely wanderers and beg them for help, ask them to notify the authorities, send people to check out the source of this mysterious disease, to do anything at all, save them, _save him_ –

He resigns himself to death the moment his younger sister’s fingers limply slip out of his grasp, gradually cooling in temperature, and his cries turn into unnatural wheezes as his vision begins blurring and turning white around the edges, matching the pale blotches ever-growing in size, greedily eating away at the expanse of Law’s naturally tan skin. He keeps glancing at the dirty mirror and patiently waits for the blemishes to spread and kill him, put him out of his misery. However, the time left to Law’s inevitable demise ends up dragging out – unlike the countless dead in the streets who died in no more than the span of a few hours due to their ugly porcelain stains, Law’s blemishes barely spread, keeping him alive and well enough for him to fully comprehend the untimely deaths of his family members, unable to do anything to put a stop to it, powerless against the cruel fate.

One would call Law special or lucky. He manages to ride out Flevance’s tragedy without getting mentally scarred for life and most important of all – he survives precisely because of that “special” part of him whereas his fellow _ordinary_ villagers are unable to.

When _They_ begin roaming the eerie roads in groups of five, searching for survivors and intent on disposing of them, Law has enough common sense to escape from his house through the back entrance and he doesn’t dare to breathe until he’s inches away from the looming woods. _They_ don’t notice the short, scrawny kid cloaked in the darkness cast by the tall pines.

Law stifles his cries, scared of the creepy, shapeless trees but even more so of the cloaked figures, and it’s more than enough for him to make a run for it, fearing the outcome in case _They_ were to find him. Law knows that at this point death is inevitable but its concept is frightening nonetheless and the thoughts of his parents and Lammy waiting for him on the other side do nothing to soothe the towering fears.

When he runs, tripping over sturdy roots and ripping his thin clothes in the process, his only thought is that he wants to _live_.

He makes noise, just enough to rouse _Their_ suspicion. One of the figures separates from the group to check out the source of it, nearing Law’s old house. Law’s feet don’t carry him far or fast enough and the stranger _teleports_ before him, successfully cutting off his only escape route. Thick, thorny bushes grow on either side of the trail, impossible to pass through. Law pauses and doesn’t dare breathe a single word.

The figure approaches, face shadowed by the lowered hood. It towers over Law, covering the faint strip of moonlight seeping through the thick foliage above. When it steps even closer, Law takes a cautious step back, swallowing in order to calm his surfacing tremors. The small action only makes his heartbeat thunder in his ears so loudly that he feels his eardrums about to burst.

“What are you doing here? Are you a survivor from the village? Are there any more of you?” the figure demands answers and Law can make out the scars on the scary man’s face. His voice is gruff and Law immediately distrusts him.

He says nothing, only eyes the stranger’s hand holding some sort of object. A stick of sorts, sleek and black, rising with every inch closed between them. The stranger points it right between Law’s eyes and while the boy knows that a stick won’t be able to hurt him, somehow the small action makes him freeze up, eyes widening. His fight or flight instincts are all over the place when the stranger tells him “it’s okay, it will only sting for a little bit,” and he wants to scream and kick and run –

Behind the figure, another man approaches the duo with a certain kind of urgency in his step. Law stares in amazement, a little shocked to find that he cannot hear anything that would indicate someone approaching – the sound of leaves crunching under heavy boots or the snapping of straying twigs. Law pretends not to notice – it seems that his captor can’t hear anything peculiar either and if this new appearance means Law’s salvation, then he is willing to bet everything on it. He blanches when the cloaked man sharply flicks the wrist holding the not-stick but before he can cause any damage, the object flies off into the distance and the man falls to the ground, arms locked to his sides and glassy eyes wild. He doesn’t scream, doesn’t struggle.

Law falls back, pressing himself into one of the trees. “What did you do to him!?” he gasps, breathing heavily due to the constantly fluctuating body temperature and temporary relief rather than fright. He doesn’t feel _that bad_ for the man who clearly had some bad intentions.

The newcomer that steps out of the shadows is twice the size of the tall, bulky figure locked in place on the forest floor and Law makes out blond strands underneath the man’s lowered hood, cold eyes and red painted lips.

He corners Law against the oak tree and after a tense moment, he presses a finger to his mouth to indicate for him to keep quiet.

Needless to say, it doesn’t sit too well with the confused child. “What’s going on!?” he asks, panic beginning to seep into his voice and the man clicks his tongue in annoyance, sending a quick glance in the direction of the annihilated village. He tiredly rubs at the bridge of his nose and before Law can open his mouth to question the fair-haired stranger, he notices the man flick his wrist and that lean object (that is clearly not a stick) disappears into the feathered sleeve of his cloak.

Law’s tongue feels too heavy inside his mouth and when he attempts to speak up, no sound comes out. Terrified, he begins clawing at his throat and the moment he notices the rapidly approaching pale blue lights, Law feels a hand connect with the back of his neck.

The action makes his world tilt and he unceremoniously passes out, barely registering the flashes of red, faint sparks exploding in his periphery.

* * *

 

Law wakes up cold and sore.

He’s still lying on the forest floor, in the same place where he’s been knocked out. The autumn’s chill greedily seeps into his weak body, pushing out the remains of warmth.

The petrified man is gone.

However, the fair-haired stranger remains, seated on a moss-covered tree stump, a lit cigarette dangling from his parted lips as he toys with something shiny wrapped up in rags. Even in the dark, Law notices that the other is contemplative. Unlike the cloaked man chasing Law around the woods, this one seems to hold no ill intent or sinister malice. He’s visibly tired and annoyed and he immediately senses that Law is awake.

“I know that you’re uninjured, kid. You need to get up so that we can get a move on,” the man says and heaves himself up to his feet. His right leg shakes and then gives out and he nearly trips, stumbling around awkwardly. It breaks the man’s serious character and Law gapes with a deep frown etched between his eyebrows when the other casually clears his throat before attempting to appear intimidating once more. Needless to say, the effect just isn’t the same.

“Get a move on “where”?” Law snips, the last two days finally catching up to him. There’s a bunch of dead bodies strewn around his birthplace and his family is _dead_. “I don’t even know who you are. I’m not going anywhere with you,” he states and crosses his arms.

The man sighs in frustration – kids seem to be… not his forte to say the least, especially the less agreeable ones – and pads to Law, seriously contemplating the idea of just grabbing the kid by the wrist and _Disappariting_ the fuck out of there before more wizards come to investigate Flevance’s abnormalities. “Now is really not the right time for this whole “my parents told me not to go with strangers” shtick, child. We’ve no time to waste – more will come. More will want to _eradicate_ you.”

Perhaps this isn’t the right choice of words, Corazon thinks, when the kid quivers his bottom lip at him, curls up on the ground, drags his massive hat over his eyes and starts bawling in earnest, mourning the deceased family and friends.

It makes his heart sting but they need to go before the kid rolls over and dies – they need to cure the sickly pale blotches covering his skin before the disease fully sets in and then rearranges and melts the kid’s internal organs into muck. He needs a healer and potions to help him. He can whine later. Losing family is hard, but Corazon knows better than anyone else out there that it’s inevitable, circumstances aside.

He kneels before the kid and awkwardly tries to get his attention with an impersonal tap on the shoulder. The kid raises his face marked with white spots and blotchy from crying, tears and snot mingling and deep shadows darkening the skin bellow his teary, reddened eyes.

Corazon crushes the remains of the cigarette into the moss and lets the amulet he’s been told to retrieve dangle before the stricken kid’s eyes, the golden necklace catching the moonlight. Just holding it makes him feel weak as though his magic is being torn out of his body in big chunks and he’s careful not to directly touch it in any way. It radiates black magic, so intense, so smothering that not even the enchanted rag helps to contain it. Even the kid flinches back due to its exposure, confused and shuddering.

Trafalgar D. Water Law is six when a complete stranger tells him that he is “special”. That he is something called a wizard.

The pretty amulet repulses Law to the depths of his soul despite its eye-catching appearance. It’s round with a big, amber-colored stone etched in the middle, bizarre runes circling around it. Law doesn’t dare to touch it and the stranger seems thankful for that.

“This,” he says, shaking the wretched thing, “Is a hexed amulet that’s been dropped into Flevance’s water supply. It’s the sole reason why everyone’s dead. It’s been crafted to kill Muggles – sorry, normal people. This magic’s been banned by every known law but its practitioners still exist and experiment with it. Your town just happened to be their newest target for which I am deeply sorry, kid,” and the man looks like he really means it. His eyes are downcast when he sneers at the object, covering it. “It creates a high-concentration magic field up to five kilometers – think of it as radiation produced by uranium. Muggle devices go offline due to its density and the people, well. You saw it for yourself. These men were probably going to collect the surviving wizards in that town and bring them back to run some tests to analyze amber lead poison’s effects. “

Law filters out most of the fair-haired man’s speech, uncomprehending half of the meanings, only really getting that this… this _necklace_ is responsible for killing off an entire village and that he somehow managed to survive because he was a wizard or something.

This was too much to wrap his mind around, but somehow Law wasn’t inclined to doubt the other’s words.

He’s always been… different.

He’d be willing to chalk up the weird happenings occurring around him to coincidences but not even he could deny them and he was simply glad that no one was around to witness these _magical_ events. If Law wanted to be left alone, the circumstances would align themselves in such astonishing ways that he’d immediately achieve his goals. If he wanted to reach for something way above his head, run away from places or simply tear off a frog’s limbs without making too much mess – he’d be able to do it all. It was as though objects bended to his will.

“Why did no one else make it? I can’t be the only one in the entire village who is… _like this_ , right?” he asks and the man thinks it over, confused himself.

“I don’t know how to answer that. Amber lead affects those without any magic or weak magic levels in their bodies. This could either mean that you are the sole wizard in a town of muggles – and Flevance is widely known as a safe haven for retired wizards due to it being populated by mostly non-magicks – or that all of the other wizards in the area had their magic weakened beforehand. Perhaps they were low on it to begin with.”

“But there are more people like me somewhere out there, right?” Law asks, thinking of it as his only hope. He has no one else to turn to, no other community to welcome him as one of their own.

The stranger laughs. “There’re plenty of us. There are even schools for young wizards to learn how to rein in their magic and – well, I’m uncertain as to why I’m telling you any of this because we really need to go now, kid. I can’t have you sticking around here and I had enough _Obiliviating_ for one evening. Besides, I’ve places to be in about half an hour so if you don’t mind and don’t intend to kick me for taking your hand, do as you’re being told and come with me.”

The unspoken _“I’ll keep you safe for now”_ hangs heavy in the air between them and while Law still doesn’t want to let himself trust a complete stranger spinning what might be untrue tales, he has no other choice but to take the offered hand and then _warp_ to god knows where, gagging upon landing.

Corazon tells him to get used to it because they’ll be doing a lot of “warping” in the near future.

* * *

 

Trafalgar grows up surrounded by various criminals and wizards of dubious background.

Corazon takes him to a mansion located on the other side of the country and then straight to his older brother who Law despises upon seeing. The man is nothing short of lecherous and everything he says seems to have a double meaning but Law decides to cooperate even if he’s constantly teetering on the edge of rebellion, doing everything just to inconvenience the head of the Donquixote household.

There’s nothing unusual about kids of various ages randomly showing up at the looming, baroque-style mansion – Doflamingo likes to collect children with fucked up backgrounds in order to raise a future army of talented dark wizards and all of them serve him in their own ways – some eagerly and loyally while others are more reluctant, just looking for a place to stay and waiting to come of age. The ones belonging to the latter group usually end up executed upon leaving – how dare they turn their backs on the family that oh so generously raised them without asking much in return, how dare they spit on the blood oath and act so ungrateful.

Corazon pleads Law to not get on his brother’s bad side – the twisted man has no qualms with booting out the less agreeable kids; and that’s the best case scenario. He’d make Law disappear in the blink of an eye if he wanted to and no one would ever know what happened to him.

A few months filled with visiting countless healers – most of who wanted nothing to do with his disease but would still do their job after Doflamingo’s men whipped out the wands – later, Law gets introduced to Baby and Buffalo who are to be his “playmates” in training and guide him through all and any obstacles that he might encounter in the future. Rather unhappily, the two brats cover the basics of their new family member’s heritage and give Law a rundown on the magic world’s rules. Law refuses further tutorage after he finally comprehends the meaning of “mudblood” – a name that the older kids never fail to call him, most of them coming from pure-blooded families, bloated with a faux sense of pride and superiority – and takes up reading instead. Reads all about the “hidden world”, the hexed necklaces and the rare diseases, various cures. His interest in dissection only grows and Law vows to himself that one day he will become a healer – or as he still calls it; a doctor. A surgeon, to be exact. To realize that dream of his, he starts practicing magic in earnest, achieving splendid results in the process that make Doflamingo proud.

Law then researches Donquixote family’s background, finds out that it’s a part of the seven ancient wizard bloodlines – a fact that they take a lot of pride in, if the abundance of their family’s sigil stamped on every surface available is anything to judge by – and then snoops around Doflamingo’s private “conferences”, easily putting two and two together – the man is clearly running some less than legal business. _Joker_ is a famous name underground, one that strikes terror in the hearts of the lesser dark wizards, so Law decides to use that to his advantage in order to find the bastard who was daring enough to lose his stupid amulet and think that he would not have to face any sorts of repercussions for this foolish action.

Law knows that whoever did this sleeps peacefully at night – after all, the reports on Flevance’s tragedy and the White Plague are grim; the Daily Prophet has reported no survivors.

Corazon has successfully pulled off a staged attack, stolen the amulet for Doflamingo to pawn off, and then rewrote the memories of the ones who have caught a glimpse of Law in the midst of their clash.

Trafalgar D. Water Law dies at the age of six. Now he’s just Law. Sometimes Trafalgar, depending on the mood and the people he’s talking to.

The more time Law spends in Mariejois – the name of the remote resort town where the Donquixote main base is located – the more warped he becomes, his sense of morality bending with every “mission” Corazon or Doflamingo take him on. Doflamingo’s most trusted men mercilessly crush his lingering hesitance to do morally-questionable things, sometimes threatening Law into it. He feels bad for the men they “visit” but feels even worse for himself whenever he thinks about Doflamingo’s notorious punishments, about the “time out room” and simply does as he is told, losing empathy in the process.

When Doflamingo tortures one of his men for disobeying direct orders and makes Law watch, he feels no sense of pity, unamused by the screeching and the writhing. By his side, Baby even starts to laugh at the man’s misery, makes fun of the twisted faces that he makes.

Corazon - sheet-white and clearly disturbed by what he saw - takes him back to his room afterwards, sits Law down on the wide bed and informs him that on September 1st he is to attend a wizarding school along with the others.

Law only nods, trying to keep his face impassive, secretly overjoyed by hearing this news – finally, he will tear off the chains that Doflamingo has placed him in. For once, Law will be free to do what he wants without having to face any serious repercussions.

As if reading his mind, Corazon tells him that this is a _school_ and that Hogwarts’ current headmaster does not tolerate casual violence and that Law is to keep a low profile lest he might blow Corazon’s cover – under Doflamingo’s orders, he’s been posing as a teacher for eight years now, gathering intel. Keeping tabs on the Donquixote kids and making sure they behave just enough to not rouse any suspicion.

Doflamingo doesn’t care about how well they do there, whom they befriend or what they do at Hogwarts so long as it isn’t a threat to the family and no one gets any funny ideas.

Law goes to sleep with faint hope still flickering in his chest – none of Doflamingo’s men will ever be able to take that small ray away from him, torture or not.

* * *

 

Lao G is an old fart with bad hearing and even worse eyesight, posing as their babysitter for the day only because he knows more than half of the people working in the Diagon and Knockturn Alleys, so it isn’t too hard for Law and his companions to orchestrate an escape. Buffalo threatens to tell on him – the round kid never failed to bring up the blood oath nonsense whenever Law was feeling even remotely rebellious – but he shuts up that greedy mouth with two-scoop raspberry ice cream as always and enjoys his time in the colorful alley, beelining to the nearest apothecary.

He doesn’t give a shit about Baby and Buffalo constantly complaining and moaning, whining for Law to hurry the hell up so that they can visit more interesting places before Lao G inevitably notices that his charges are gone and who really cares about dried bat turds anyways, but they never leave his side regardless. Law enjoys having dumbasses for lackeys who are easy to manipulate and let him get away with minor offenses – he simply tells Doflamingo’s men that everyone is at fault and that they’re _just dumb kids who didn’t know any better_. Blaming Baby for their escapades is almost effortless – she’s far too scared of Law to go against him and too damn trusting in general – and Buffalo doesn’t have much of a problem with helping him out as long as he gets something out of it.

Just to stop their incessant bitching, Law purchases the ingredients a tiny bit faster than he normally would, and they barrel through the front door, Buffalo ramming himself into some poor kid in the process. He doesn’t apologize – Law doubts that he even saw the boy or _felt_ the collision – Baby simply hops over his thin legs and Law receives the brunt of the kid’s older brother’s wrath who angrily yells at him to _watch it_ , glaring through the thick curtain of dark curly hair. The small kid reassures that he’s fine and brushes off his dusty shorts, not noticing the bloody palms that smear the fabric even further.

Law watches the older boy carefully take his brother by the less injured hand and guide him through the thick crowd consisting mostly of young wizards, witches and their parents happily purchasing school supplies. The sight makes Law uncomfortable so he lets his gaze scan the countless shops just for the sake of having something to do, not one bit caring that he’s just been separated from his “family”.

* * *

 

By the end of the day Law feels pretty content, pleased with his purchases, having bought far more than was listed on his acceptance letter. He’s sitting in his cramped room and reading a book on rare potions when Corazon comes in to check on him. Law doesn’t set the book down for the sake of keeping up appearances but listens to Corazon going off about Law’s new books, about being forced to read them in the past and ending up liking some of the authors. Their names mean nothing to Law but so far he’s enjoying the heavy read so he has no doubt in his mind that the rest are just as good.

Law likes Corazon’s wits because the man always charms the guards patrolling the halls, usually stationed behind Law’s door – the fair-haired man is a master of silence spells, _Muffiliato_ being his favorite. Corazon isn’t evil or annoying like Trebol or Vergo, he’s simple and easy-going and while Law likes to mess with him, the man’s presence provides him with a sense of comfort – one he has long since forgotten.

He reluctantly shows Corazon his wand – hawthorn with the hair of a unicorn in its core – and sighs in resignation when the man gets far too excited and attempts to cast a spell with it, setting his shoulder on fire in the process. The wand makes a graceful arc in the air and neatly lands in Law’s lap as if knowing who its new owner is. The hilarity of Corazon trying to put out the blue flames combined with his picky wand make Law burst out laughing for what seems to be the first time in years.

He nearly doubles over himself as he cackles, tears springing up to his tired eyes and he never wants to stop. He wants to hold onto the liberating feeling while Corazon goes quiet and still, wide-eyed with surprise – Law would refuse to smile no less laugh so this is… unique.

The sight makes the man smirk, fond.

This is exactly what he wants for Law and he hopes that the boy will get to experience happier times at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

* * *

 

Law begins making enemies on his train trip to school.

He is forced to board the Hogwarts express with Bellamy and his lackeys and then share a compartment per Doflamingo’s orders – “the boss” wants the other students to know who it is that they’ll be dealing with. Teens avoid meeting Law’s eyes when he decides to stretch his legs and so does the kind lunch lady who visits them halfway into the trip. Law stares at the unfamiliar treats and refuses to buy anything, suddenly aware of the suspicious movement in some of the boxes wrapped up in colorful foil. Buffalo just says “don’t mind if I do” and buys a bit of everything, nearly getting sick on them after the train experiences some turbulence.

Pissed off beyond belief, Bellamy unceremoniously banishes the newbies to a different compartment which certainly wasn’t empty before but who is Law to question Bellamy and his attitude problems, knowing perfectly well that the other would be more than capable of chasing out some teens without any back up needed.

For that, they get into trouble with a pissed off prefect already dressed in his school uniform – Law tries very hard to remember which house had the color yellow in it, ends up drawing a blank – but Law simply directs the raging teen to Bellamy’s squad, rolling his eyes at the unnecessary dramatics. The kid calls him rude but thanks him for cooperation anyway and Buffalo is too sick to ask for bribes. Either way, Law’s snitching goes unnoticed and the hex battle occurring in the hallway is stopped before it can actually get serious, so in the end, it all works out, really. Not like he cares in the slightest.

It takes just a few hours for his reputation to go to complete shit and the moment the first-years board the small boats meant to bring them across the huge lake leading to an impressive castle, Law can hear poisonous whispers behind his back, heatedly discussing his ties to the troublemakers. It’s annoying to say the least and dampens his mood to the point the ride is no longer enjoyable – his initial excitement to see the self-propelled boats that Corazon had mentioned doing nothing to salvage it. Instead he curls up in his seat and tries to warm his palms, failing in his task and focusing on Baby’s awe to drown out the toxic whispers.

While he semi-patiently waits in line to put on the ragged sorting hat that will decide his future, he nearly decks some kid standing to his right, _spreading lies_ about him and Baby plus Buffalo – _I heard that they’re Bellamy’s adoptive siblings, they’re evil to the bone, that short kid threatened me for getting in his way while we were walking to the express, he’s twisted, look at him, look at them, last year, Bellamy broke my brother’s nose for no reason at all and they will probably do the same if you so much as glance their way, mark my words they will end up in Slytherin_ – and tries to focus on the magical part of the dining hall instead, tilting his head to observe the fake sky looming above. From the teachers’ table, Corazon catches his roaming gaze and discreetly gives him a thumbs up. Law appreciates the gesture, nodding stiffly.

If he were a believer, he’d thank god for his remaining surname – Baby and Buffalo are stuck with Donquixote as their last name, successfully singling them out the moment their names are called to the front, both of them ending up at Slytherin, aka Bellamy’s house – because it shocks the lying kid into stunned silence and Law flips him off right before walking to the front and then to the lifeless hat, grateful for the temporary lights out that it provides.

He’s a hat stall.

It whispers half-finished, confusing sentences and musings into Law’s ears, thinking of where to place him and holding his fate in its proverbial hands. “You’re brave and bold yet you rarely take risks, often choosing the safe, secure route… no, this lifestyle isn’t meant for you. You believe in hard work and effort and wish to help those in need despite living in a state of denial… but do you truly think that effort trumps over talent and luck? You’re clever, smart beyond your years and very capable. You know this far too well and put quite a bit of effort into constantly nurturing your ever-present thirst for knowledge in order to reach your goals – which makes me address this ambitious side of yours. You’ve no qualms using others for your gain and have little regard to those standing in the way, so it’d be interesting to witness your growth in Slytherin, the house of the cunning.”

The final statement sounds like a death sentence to Law’s ears as if the hat is imposing on his new, restriction-free lifestyle, putting him in shackles once more. He doesn’t want to be anywhere near Slytherin, doesn’t want their colors on his clothes, doesn’t want Bellamy controlling the next five years of his supposed freedom – something that Doflamingo has “graciously” bestowed upon him for being a good brat and knowing his place. He isn’t here to make friends but he isn’t here to make the entire school his enemy either and while he’s gotten used to hating and being hated, being alone without anyone to fully trust – god, he just doesn’t want to be thrown into the turbulent currents of the sea without anything to hold onto, anyone to offer him a hand if needed.

He isn’t going to gain anything from Slytherin, no connections and no positivity, only a repeat of his years at the Mariejois. Doflamingo will be breathing down the back of his neck, Bellamy will threaten to report his every single mistake and he’ll have to face the consequences the moment he’s back in that accursed mansion.

A hat has no place to tell him how to live his life, no less judge his fate like this.

“I don’t want to be in Slytherin,” Law mumbles and hears a quizzical hum. “Place me anywhere, I don’t care, just not Slytherin.”

“Ah,” the hat says, “but you could grow so much more there. It’s the fastest way for you to reach your innermost goals and deep down you know it to be true.”

“I don’t care,” Law nearly begs, _please please please anywhere but there –_ “I’d rather drop out right now than end up in that place.”

“You’ve made your resolve clear,” the hat answers him after what seems to be hours. It was so silent that Law was almost certain it had either abandoned him or given up on trying to hear him out. “Very well then, I shall look forward to witnessing your endless pursuit of knowledge in, “ Law hears the stretching of fabric as the hat opens its formless mouth to announce his fate to the countless people flooding the dining hall, “RAVENCLAW!”

The table adorned in blue and bronze banners politely applauds the newcomer and Law slides off the three-legged chair with jelly-like legs, still reeling from the nerve-wrecking experience. He doesn’t need to turn around to know that the members of Donquixote family are gaping at his retreating back, betrayed and disbelieving. As some older kids make space for him to sit down, their smiles just a tad forced, Law feels smug with victory, as if he’s just proven everyone wrong, trampled all over their imposed expectations.

Corazon is clapping heatedly, his chair lying on the side. He waves at Law when their eyes meet again and Law shyly returns the gesture, flushing. Corazon mouths “I’m proud of you” and finally relents to the other teachers’ bemused stares, steadying the chair and then watching the rest of the sorting with a bit of a bored expression on his face.

Personally, Law just wants this to be over and done with, weak from hunger that he’s been trying to fight down the entire day – it’s not like Doflamingo’s maids ever packed them lunches.

* * *

 

Law’s first weeks in Hogwarts are decent. He enjoys his classes and people generally steer clear from him without bothering to say anything nasty beforehand, so that’s good. He doesn’t mind being alone – he’s been a loner even ways before Flevance’s tragedy, always the odd one out. Law doesn’t think himself capable of maintaining relationships – he’s far too distant and aloof to properly open up to anyone, no less trust them. Instead, he finds himself spending his free time in the library. It turns into somewhat of a safe haven, the one place Bellamy and the rest would never think of checking out in case they ever needed him for anything.

Bellamy labels him a traitor to the family and while that aggressive statement earns him some nasty glares from the nameless kids with green and silver ties, Law doesn’t mind it one bit and continues to ignore them. During their first days at Hogwarts, Baby would catch Law in the vacated hallways right before the start of classes under the pretense of wanting to know how he’s been doing and then without waiting for an unlikely reply, she would unabashedly ask for his notes. She’d attempt to convince him that copying homework was a part of that stupid blood oath, but after Law got fed up and glared her away, Baby didn’t bother him again, hiding behind her new friends from, surprise surprise – Gryffindor, whenever they passed each other by.

His teachers praise his bottomless innate talent and straight up place him on a pedestal, always asking him to demonstrate how to properly charm things, mix potions and whatnot. Law knows that the students dislike him for that, call him a know-it-all behind his back whenever he correctly answers a teacher’s question and doesn’t mess up his minor tasks. He only kind of sucks at the compulsory flying classes – the broomstick refuses to obey no matter how authoritative and confident he tries to sound as he orders it to fly into his open palm, getting frustrated in the process – and that alone makes him the target of teasing for the magical world’s equivalent of jocks, already boasting about how they’re totally going to land a spot on their respective house’s Quidditch team the following year. Law sees no appeal in zooming around on shaggy, unstable broomsticks and putting balls through hoops with the ever-present threat of getting knocked out by a Bludger, so he refuses to associate himself with such a… rough sport.

A few months into the schoolyear, the Slytherins finally take notice of Law’s uncaring, unbendable demeanor and begin to nitpick for flaws, choosing the worst one possible in the process. While Law doesn’t make any friends, it doesn’t mean that he’s truly alone because Corazon (who insists on being called Professor Donquixote or Rocinante when there are people around but doesn’t mind the occasional Mr. Cora) always makes an effort to bring Law outside on the weekends for fresh air and breakfast. He shows the boy around the school grounds and they usually end up sitting down on a stone bench conveniently placed further away from the castle, hidden in the shade of trees. Law enjoys the peace it provides and feeds the creatures lurking in the dark waters of the lake while Corazon skips stones further away and asks Law about his studies.

When he’s too busy with teacher duties to meet Law outside, the man goes out of his way to drop by the library and while they don’t really talk, Corazon is fine with sitting in silence, reading over books that would help him make his classes a little more interesting.

They get spotted in the hallway when Corazon is handing Law a bundle of new potion ingredients that he wanted and it goes downhill from there. Law is waiting for his Charms class when the creepy dudes Buffalo often hangs out with roughly brush past, make him stumble forward and nearly drop his schoolbag in the process. Law, knowing that it wouldn’t be long before the start of the class, decides to brush off this obvious offense meant to harm either him or his belongings, but the biggest and the dumbest-looking kid of the group strolls up to him and _signs his sentence,_ “What are you gonna do about it? Run to that freakshow Rocinante like a good _pet_ that you are and tell on us?”

Law’s wand is out before the guy can push him again and in blind rage he casts the first spell to pop into his mind, intent on making the other eat his words. Horrified screams erupt in the hallway and Law watches with a sick fascination as the guy’s face turns purple and then parchment-white due to the blinding pain caused by the rashes appearing on his skin, growing in size.

Law refuses to lower his wand even though the students yell at him to stop it already, that he’s had enough, but the multiple pleas fall on deaf ears and Law gigantifies the nose of yet another brash bully charging in, fists swinging and wand foolishly forgotten, dead set on avenging his writhing comrade.

Afterwards, no one else wants to come within three meter radius of him so Law calmly approaches the moaning guy, his ugly, twisted face bleeding from all that scratching – it’s entirely his own fault for being unable to stay put and riding out the hex – and mercilessly brings his foot down, heel connecting with the mouthy bastard’s solar plexus, effectively knocking out the remains of shuddering breath from his contracting lungs. If he were even remotely serious, Law would grind his heel against the bully’s torso and make sure he’d be reduced to a sobbing, begging mess, but he quickly remembers that this is a school and takes the leg away. Points the wand at him instead, face stone-like and eyes cold when he quietly warns “Don’t you _ever_ touch me again. Do I make myself clear?”

The mess on the floor whimpers pathetically and Law is tempted to cast another spell, still furious at the other for bringing _Corazon_ into this, but then there’s a firm hand around his wrist and he doesn’t need to turn around to know that it’s the Charms professor.

Ms. Tashigi instructs some Slytherins to bring their housemate to the healer’s office asap and tells the rest of the students to head inside the classroom and wait for her return. She must deal with Law’s punishment first.

Upon hearing the word “punishment”, Law knows that he has royally fucked up, glaring at the lingering Ravenclaw kids for not speaking up and telling the professor that everything was on that Slytherin boy who provoked Law into drawing his wand in an attempt to defend himself.

* * *

 

His offense is considered pretty grave and costs him a whole lot of house points, but Law manages to get away with a few weeks of detention and three essays only. If Tashigi hadn’t appeared when she did, by now that Slytherin guy would’ve been dead. Not that Law truly cares about any of that, honestly disappointed that he couldn’t deal more damage. His tormentor gets away with not doing his homework by pretending that he still has phantom aches and Law’s the one stuck cleaning the various house trophies and Quidditch cups dating back to 1800s, his dislike for the sport growing with every nameplate that he’s forced to scrub.

People begin to avoid him as though he is diseased, talking about his outrageous offenses behind his back. They call him insane for what he did and hate him for selfishly robbing Ravenclaw of its first place in the house rankings. At least Doflamingo doesn’t send him a howler or anything of the sort – it would’ve only cemented his reputation as misplaced Slytherin scum.

Corazon is very disappointed in him but once he hears the truth from Law, he relents, touched by latter’s protectiveness. He still reminds Law to stop putting students’ lives in danger but the advice goes to naught because right after Easter, Trafalgar poisons his potions partner’s cauldron for talking smack about the weird, eccentric professor Rocinante who dresses like a muggle and who’s clearly a half-giant, taken his insane height into consideration.

He even fesses up to it when they rush the gagging kid to the healing ward.

This one earns him a serious one-on-one talk with the Hogwarts’ headmaster, Edward Newgate, and while the man doesn’t yell or threaten the wee first year in any way, he does express his concerns with Law’s socially questionable behavior and tells him that he is deeply disappointed by it – after all, Hogwarts is famous for its friendly environment. Law only rolls his eyes at the old man’s supposed scolding, but the moment Rocinante gets brought into their conversation, his shoulders sag and he averts his gaze in overwhelming shame when Newgate informs that Corazon isn’t handling Law’s problematic behavior all too well, along with the multiple angry letters he receives from the injured kids’ parents.

When Law finally meets the headmaster’s dark eyes and says “I apologize, I won’t ever do it again,” he means it wholeheartedly. The old man probably senses the honesty in that statement as well and Law notices his massive moustache quirking upwards, just barely – an indication that he is smiling now that they’ve reached a consensus.

* * *

 

Law’s first year ends with him being a top of their entire year grade-wise and while Ravenclaw fails to win the house cup, no one is blaming him too much for it, happy that the cup at least ended up in the hands of the ecstatic Hufflepuffs – they won it off Slytherin by a mere three points.

Corazon still has some work to do but sees the kid off at the Hogsmeade station nevertheless, reminding Law to mind his tone around Vergo who is to pick them up at King’s Cross. He then hands Law his lunch and shoves a little box into his small hands.

“Promise to only open it once you’re fully settled in your compartment, alright?” Corazon asks and upon Law’s stiff nod, he ruffles the boy’s fluffy hair, making Law squawk indignantly. His cheeks feel too warm when he notices some students staring their way, eyebrows quirked – it’s strange to see the school’s terror handled so familiarly, by a teacher no less. He glares them away and swats at Corazon’s wide palm.

“Not in public,” he hisses, flushing even more when the man laughs at his lame excuse for a threat. Quieter, he adds “I promise.”

Corazon smiles, nodding to himself, while Law fidgets with the gift, holding it closer to his chest. The package isn’t heavy, shabbily wrapped up in light brown paper and held together by a white string. He awkwardly stands around, reluctant to part with Rocinante just yet, dreading the thought of returning to Mariejois, to Doflamingo’s ancient mansion, and then restlessly waiting for Corazon’s return to the place he does not dare to refer to as home. The man doesn’t turn on his heel nor does he show any intention of leaving Law behind, which confuses the boy greatly because they’ve already said their goodbyes and Corazon literally has no other reason to wait for Law to drag his small suitcase to the gigantic red train, its engine already working – a sign for the lingering students to hurry up and board it. 

Corazon places his hands on his hips, straightening up to tower over the students and nudges Law with the tip of his boot. “Alright then, now that that’s settled, be on your way. Go!” he shoos the kid away with his hands. “I’ll see you in a few weeks, Law. Try not to burn down the mansion by then.”

“We’ll see about that,” Law huffs, lightly kicks at Corazon’s leg and then finally boards the express, sticking out his tongue at the lingering man. He’s only a little upset about the rude dismissal, pride damaged at being treated like a little kid that he actually is, but who is Law to question the actions of a shady man like that.

He gets a compartment all to himself and sits by the window, leaning against it, squinting against the blinding rays of early summer sun as he watches Rocinante turn into a humanoid shape in the distance, ceaselessly waving until the train is completely out of sight. Seeing Law off properly like a family member would.

It makes his chest constrict in a strange, long-since-forgotten way and his skin crawl none too pleasantly so to distract himself from these foreign sensations, Law refocuses his attention to the package innocently resting in his lap. He fiddles with the string and carelessly peels off the sandwich paper, hesitantly opening the lid of the green box.

Inside, there’s a white fluffy hat with dark spots adorning its sides and Law’s jaw drops when he gingerly picks it up, feeling along the soft texture.

It looks just like the one that he used to own – by now too dirty and worn down to wear in public, its fur falling out in chunks. The only difference lies in its design – this one is shaped like a cap and Law hesitantly pulls it on, checking out his faint reflection in the window. It fits perfectly as though it was specifically tailored for him and belatedly he realizes that it probably was.

Corazon _gifted_ him a hat.

As if in a dream, Law unfolds the note that was placed beneath it, eyes flying over the woven words, barely registering any of them, hands clenching and unclenching on the parchment. The message is rather lengthy and Law places it aside upon reaching the most important, life-changing sentences of Corazon’s letter.

_“I’ll pick you up from the mansion once I finally purchase the house in Dressrosa and move my office there. It’ll be just you and me, Law.”_

Law curls up on the plush bench and _breathes_ for what seems to be the first time in years, unwilling to believe his luck just yet.

Corazon has set them free.

* * *

 

Dressrosa is a port city of flourish and entertainment but their house is located far away from the ever-present noise and glamour, in a neighborhood filled with more than enough wizard families in disguise. Everyone seems nice and accepting and Corazon ends up loving it even more than Law does, still not quite fully accustomed to the normalcy of it all, to this drastic change of scenery.

He doesn’t miss the comfortable lifestyle of Doflamingo’s blasted mansion, far more content with the little house in the suburbs with sunflowers growing in the backyard and the lawns smelling of dried grass, summer’s heat. He helps Corazon around the house, muggle-style – his “guardian” insists on keeping a low profile and using magic for easy, mundane tasks is the exact opposite of that – and for once Law actually feels his own age, no longer forced into visiting places that he despises and doing things against his will.

Corazon had fully convinced his brother to let him and Law go, lying through his teeth about Law’s problematic behavior and instability directly affecting his magic. He promised Doflamingo to break down the kid’s rebellious spirit and return a full-fledged warrior, ready to do Joker’s bidding upon command. The older Donquixote seemingly held no interest in Law’s current potential but deemed the troublesome kid worthy enough of this chance, worth the hassle and the inconveniences that followed, unwilling to pass up the promising opportunity of gaining a loyal follower. Without much thought, he struck a bargain with his younger brother – he’d gladly grant Law some freedom only if he promised to return to Mariejois at least thrice a year during the bigger “family events”. Of course, in exchange he expected Rocinante to visit far more often – a thing that seemingly didn’t bother the latter in the slightest. He readily agreed to Doflamingo’s insignificant conditions, thinking of Law’s childhood and nothing else. The boy deserved a normal life, a thing he’s been robbed of ever since Flevance.

Their next door neighbors are really kind and helpful in every way imaginable. Law somehow ends up being roped into weekly dinners at Dold’s – probably a good thing to happen because Corazon is an awful cook at best and they can only handle so much Chinese take outs – and then becomes unlikely friends with the Dold’s girls. Viola is a few years older and studies in a different wizardry school called Beauxbatons that is apparently located all the way in Europe, and while she and Law aren’t exactly close, there’s at least no animosity between them so their conversations are _alright_ despite the lapsing, awkward silences every now and then. While Viola’s companionship doesn’t make Law a better person per se, it at least manages to convince him that not all kids instantly view him as a threat.

Her niece Rebecca is three years Law’s junior and the sole reason why he and Viola started to talk in the first place. The pink-haired girl is bubbly and unbearably curious, often winding up in unsafe situations and forcing her seniors to look out for her, in Law’s case – unwillingly. The moment Rebecca slipped off the branch of a tree that was dividing their backyards and Law dived in to catch her at the same time Viola did, his fate was sealed.

Rebecca often asks him about Hogwarts, its different system – there are no such things as houses in Beauxbatons; from the sound of it, that place seems something akin to a muggle boarding school – and then she always states that she’ll definitely be attending it in the near future. To Rebecca, Beauxbatons seems rather boring in comparison – it doesn’t have any moving staircases or ghosts or talking paintings asking for passwords or waiting to be tickled in the right places in exchange for granting entry to common rooms.

And when both families – family, Law thinks, is a strange concept to muse over and an even stranger term to hear considering the fact that Corazon is just a mere benefactor of his despite him posing as Law’s legal guardian – visit the Diagon Alley to purchase new supplies for the upcoming school year, Law comes to a conclusion that his current life isn’t too terrible and then immediately grabs the back of his benefactor’s extravagant feathered coat to steady the clumsy man before he can kiss the cobblestoned street.


	2. Chapter 2

The second year is far more bearable.

Law isn’t too sure as to what is different. Maybe it has something to do with his exposure to daily, decent interaction with people his age. Perhaps it’s the fact that it’s been _months_ since he did anything even remotely dangerous, keeping up his trophy student image A to Z. After all, they’re just teens and while some of them don’t exactly forgive, the majority of the student body certainly _forgets_. Law’s attitude problem seems akin to an ancient tale meant to scare newbies into staying out of his way and eventually everyone loses what little interest they had in Law to begin with, especially after their studies start demanding attention.

New, scandalous things happen every now and then, bringing fresh rumors along – there’s never a stagnant day in Hogwarts. Law usually finds out all about them the following day while adding the finishing touches to his rushed essays, not really paying the rumor mill any attention. It has nothing to do with him, after all.

The most shocking thing is that he actually manages to make friends. Sort of.

Penguin and Shachi are more akin to _followers_ , often tagging along without being asked to, but Law secretly cares for their well-being the same way they do for his, usually keeping him company right before class, at the library, and sometimes even during their spare time. Their interests are a little different – Penguin seems a little more calm, more like Law, whereas Shachi is often all over the place, a specimen of a basic male; prioritizing girls and Quidditch over his studies – but they mesh together pretty well and they don’t mind Law’s quietness one bit, content with controlling the ensuing conversations and their topics.

Their first interaction strikes Law as hilarious – the duo sought him out on Hogwarts express just to tell him that they thought that the way Law defended professor Rocinante’s honor was pretty cool and that it earned their respect. Apparently, the aforementioned man helped the boys find their classroom on their first day at Hogwarts – Shachi was sorted into Hufflepuff whereas Penguin ended up at Gryffindor – and even put in a good word for them to the fussy Transfiguration professor.

Law only shrugged, told them that the Slytherin doofus had it coming, and agreed to their proposal to share the compartment. A few hours wouldn’t hurt plus Law could always go back to reading and ignoring his surroundings. Besides, he was pretty certain that by now everywhere else was occupied. They talked about their studies, teachers, summers – Shachi went off about going to pro-Quidditch games for at least a solid hour, apparently his passion for the sport stemmed from his grandpa who was a well-known Seeker in the pro-league back in the day – and then spent the rest of the ride munching on sweets. Law found out that he really liked the chocolate frogs and decided to collect the small cards of great wizards that came along with the small blue-gold boxes.

He also begins spending more time with his fellow housemate, two years his senior – Nico Robin. During his first year of school, Law would take notice of the girl constantly lurking in the library. Robin would usually sit by the window, partially-hidden by a tall stack of ancient history books, only occasionally leaving her seat to return the less interesting ones to their assigned shelves, and she’d only leave the premises after the librarian would notify the lingering nerds that they were about to close for the night. Law would often find himself looking up and mindlessly watching her through the gaps of the emptied shelves whenever she’d noiselessly walk down the cramped aisles and skim over dusty covers with her fingertips, her presence ghost-like. He’d wonder if Robin was anything like him – someone others disliked. Someone who had no one else to turn to, seeking comfort in stories instead.

She confirms his suspicions – she didn’t really manage to make any friends at Hogwarts, preferring the company of old books. He isn’t sure how or when they started sitting together at the common room, knees shy of touching, doing their homework or simply reading. Robin never imposes on him, never asks questions without purpose, and for that Law is immensely grateful, brushing off Shachi’s teasing about the girl being his secret girlfriend. If Law ever gets flustered around her, it’s only because he still cannot believe that someone like Robin would ever willingly go out of her way to talk to a guy like him – she seems too good for his brooding company anyways and she’s nice enough to get better friends.

Law is pleased to see her in the pleasant company of a hyperactive first year Gryffindor who looks vaguely familiar for reasons unknown, smiling and laughing at something the younger boy said or did. Law then turns back to face the guy from Slytherin with whom he’s formed an unlikely rivalry, throwing some choice insults his way and smirking at the other’s offended sputtering. Eustass Kidd is a fool but an entertaining one and he keeps up with Law’s snark just fine. Plus, their easy banters often make Law’s day, especially whenever he succeeds in shutting the red-haired brat up with a single sentence. There’s comfort in the fact that Kidd doesn’t roll with Bellamy or his little gang. He defies the self-imposed prideful rules of Slytherin on daily basis, so Law doesn’t really think of him as evil or something along those lines. Still hates his guts, though.

Still writes him back during summer vacation when Kidd sends Law an owl – a beautiful creature that nearly takes up a fourth of Law’s small room when it shows him its full wingspan and then grooms itself – with only the word “dumbass” written on the triple-folded piece of parchment, followed by his initials.

A few minutes later, Law watches his snow-white owl (that he’s lovingly named Bepo) turn into a ghostly spot in the distance, carrying his short reply – “missed me so badly that you had to send me an insult without any context, you idiot?” – to a destination unknown and enjoys the gentle breeze against his face, secretly hoping for the summer vacation to come to an end already, a little bored. Kid’s great grey owl lets out one final majestic hoot, thanking Law for the water that he’s provided, and takes off as well, leaving Law’s room strangely empty and lifeless.

* * *

 

 

On his 3rd year of Hogwarts, Law finally pins a name to the face and his life steadily goes downhill from there.

The bubbly, chaotic kid constantly flashing in and out of his periphery is called Monkey D. Luffy and people _adore him._

Not like Law can’t see the exact reasons _why_. The kid is most likely made of concentrated sunshine too bright and obnoxious for Law to directly look at for longer than a few passing seconds whereas others are craving its exposure, gravitating towards Luffy from every Hogwarts house, rivalries and even year differences set aside. Law would be a liar if he said that the concept didn’t intrigue him in the least – the brat was interesting in his own loud and brash way. Luffy could easily be compared to a natural phenomenon or perhaps even a disaster, and if Law decided to look up the meaning of “Gryffindor” in a dictionary, he’s certain that Luffy’s photo would show up right next to the definition – the latter didn’t fully get to try on the sorting hat before it announced his house, making the red and gold adorned table positively roar; they’ve all been waiting for Luffy to end up as a part of their boisterous family.

One day, while Law is walking back to the common room, hair still damp from the shower, he suddenly recalls _where_ he saw the kid before – he’s the skinny brat who Buffalo had carelessly trampled over all those years ago. He has to thank Luffy’s rolled-up dress pants (a clear violation of the dress code but no amount of threats force him to wear the uniform properly) for jostling his memory along with Portgas’ harsh glare even though it’s _Luffy_ who accidentally bumps into _Law_ , distractedly apologizing and quickly collecting his belongings before running off. Law hears a telltale “don’t associate yourself with this guy, Lu,” and then everything clicks into place.

At first, Law didn’t know what Portgas’ beef with him was – the guy always gave him stink eyes whenever Law would so much as breathe in his general direction – but now he feels as though he’s been enlightened. Of course _Portgas_ of all the people would remember some random asshole child from three years ago whose family members made Luffy’s precious palms bleed. _Of course_ he’d think that Law wasn’t sorry (he wasn’t), that Law actually remembered his face and took pride in tugging his leash by pretending that he didn’t (he remembered Ace’s _features_ not the face as a whole; the curly hair, the mean look and the sour expression) and _of course_ Portgas’d never forgive an offense against Luffy no matter how insignificant or accidental. It was almost as though Law has hurt him directly or something – in the end he comes to a conclusion that it has more to do with Ace’s damaged overprotective sibling pride rather than the accident itself. Perhaps he was in charge of babysitting his hyperactive brother that day.

Law’s just glad that there are actual “solid” reasons _why_ people view him as a menace – being randomly hated by a jock like Portgas D. Ace just because he’s a quiet, nerdy dude who occasionally hexes people for looking at him the wrong way would be an insult.

In Law’s humble opinion, Luffy is an annoying jock as well. Despite talking big on his first year, the kid has what it takes to back up his words and reach his insane goals at rapid speeds, and so, in the beginning of his second year, Luffy effortlessly lands himself a spot on Gryffindor’s Quidditch team as one of the Chasers. People praise his bold, sometimes rough, plays and coo that he’s a true jewel in the rough – just as expected from Portgas’ younger brother.

Law, who has grown to hate the blasted superiority complex of the pure-blooded families, resents the D. Brothers’ unfair popularity which stems from their bloodline and family connections first and foremost. They may fervently deny it – mostly Ace – and they may hate the concept of it, but the reality is undeniable; no one would’ve had any expectations for them right from the get go if the boys didn’t have anything to their names. Just two nameless wizards in an impossibly huge crowd.

Robin tells Law that Portgas – who is apparently in the same year as her – was put under the spotlight upon arrival, successfully stealing everyone’s attention without ever meaning to, making hushed yet heated whispers sweep over the dinner hall the moment he was called to the front for the sorting, ending up as Gryffindor’s pride and joy. No one would shut the fuck about his heritage throughout the first semester of the school year and the boy became the most everything topic to all – Ace, the son of the ex-minister Gol D. Roger who was cruelly murdered during the small-scale revolt within the Ministry of Magic. No one knew where the boy spent the majority of his childhood, safely hidden away from the surrounding world by his new guardian, Monkey D. Garp, who also just happened to be the current head of the Auror department and one of the strongest wizards up to date. Coincidentally, Luffy’s grandfather as well.

Needless to say, Ace was forced to work twice as hard as any other student out there in an attempt to establish a different image for himself and finally get rid of his late father’s looming shadow. While he wasn’t all that astounding in the field of studies, he had talent in other areas. Portgas was a splendid Keeper, polite and nice to talk to (if you were on his good side, of course), helped those in need without being asked, and his fine looks certainly didn’t go by unnoticed by the majority of the female students. And while he had little regard for school rules, doing minor stupid shit every now and then, all was forgiven – the teachers adored him anyways.

No one threatened him with expulsion when he got into a hex fight with some guy from the sixth year and set three paintings on fire in the process – he got away with only one evening of detention too. Portgas isn’t the weirdo Trafalgar Law so the latter firmly decides to never get involved with him or his famous _family_.

But as always, Law’s life has other plans in store – and so does Monkey D. Luffy.

* * *

 

Their official introductions occur during the most… unfortunate circumstances, to say the least.

Law is just minding his business, seated in his favorite spot at the castle’s inner yard and preparing for the upcoming Herbology quiz, when loud shouts and curses interrupt his quiet study session. With an annoyed sigh, he snaps shut the heavy tome and sets the remains of his breakfast – a half-eaten apple – aside, searching for the source of the noise, knowing perfectly well that Luffy is involved. The kid has an exceptional pair of lungs and Law could usually hear him yelling about one thing or another from three floors away.

He’s the only one outside – it’s far too early for people to loiter around in this chill, the exception being the Quidditch kids – and that alone spells out trouble because by now Law knows that confrontations with Luffy do not end well.

He curses when he spots the boy’s lean frame nearly entirely blocked by Bellamy’s towering form; _of course_ , Slytherin’s Quidditch practice is set right after Gryffindor’s. Law seriously questions the school staff’s ability to read into the animosity between these two houses in particular and then stiffens up, observing the ferocious exchange and wishing for it to end in crude remarks and insults rather than fists, or even worse – drawn wands.

It’s almost as though his thoughts are being directly translated to the fighting pair because right after he thinks that, Bellamy just has to open his big fat mouth to say “I can’t goddamn wait to knock Portgas off his broom during your first official match, it’d be like an initiation ritual for you, punk. Maybe then you’ll realize who you’re talking to,” and Luffy _does not_ take kindly to people threatening his friends and family. Despite being twice as short, he still straightens up to full height, anger flashing in his dark eyes and he draws the wand which he foolishly keeps right under his belt.

Law’s feet move on their own accord.

He hears the defiant kid yell out “take that back, you sick bastard!”, completely blind to the fact that Bellamy’s fingers were quickly inching towards his own hidden wand, ready to cast a spell when Luffy least expected it, but before the bulky blond has a chance to shoot more than a single nasty hex his way, Law petrifies him from behind.

The sound that Bellamy’s body produces when he stiffly flops down on the ground is that of a huge rock being tossed into the distance. Law feels a strange sensation of pride and satisfaction at his handiwork – god, he wanted to do this for so long – but doesn’t get to fully admire it because Luffy is on his knees, gasping for air and clawing at his constricting throat.

Law curses and looks around once more, only to find no one. Bellamy’s favorite.

This is going to get really ugly if the boy doesn’t get professional help fast.

“Stop that, you’ll make it worse,” Law swats at the kid’s twitching hands and balances him so that he’s properly doubled over when he coughs out blood and rose thorns. He rubs soothing circles on the boy’s back and evaluates their surroundings – no one’s going to spot them from inside the castle. The inner yard is completely covered by the thick, golden foliage of the tall, winding trees.

Luffy only gargles in response, lower face smeared in red, and Law finally remembers the right spell meant to counter this torturous curse. The problem is that he’s only ever tried it once and _failed_ , magic not strong enough to perform it. Later on, he’d looked it up in his Charms books, curious to find out more about its classification – apparently it was hard to perform even for the students taking advanced level N.E.W.T.s

Luffy looks at him through lidded, doe-like eyes, clearly in a lot of pain, and without much consideration, Law puts the tip of his wand against the troublemaker’s throat, concentrating and hoping that he doesn’t fuck it up or somehow make it even worse in the process – his future Healer’s pride is riding on this one spell.

“ _Relevo_ ,” he says with all the confidence that he can muster and watches the end of the wand erupt in golden flames, only a little surprised. Huh, this certainly didn’t happen the last time he tried to cast it.

The kid tenses up under his palm, wary of the unfamiliar spell, but relents once he starts feeling its healing effects – the spasms cease to something nonexistent and Luffy’s breathing becomes far less… wet.

Carefully, Law steadies the boy by the shoulders, tipping his chin back to inspect the damage. Well, he’s certainly going to feel that one tomorrow morning. “Better?” he asks in a clinical, emotionless tone once he’s done examining the other’s splintered lips.

Luffy attempts to force a shaky smile and feels around his mouth to pull out the long, black thorns embedded there. “Yeah,” he sighs out but the relief doesn’t last for long. Luffy presses his palms against his mouth after yet another body-rattling cough tears through his lungs. More blood seeps past those bony fingers, a clear indication of Law’s failure – the spell worked only partially.

Thank fucking god he spots a student in the distance.

Law doesn’t know if he should be grateful or worried that the one rushing their way, nearly tripping in his haste to get to Luffy, is the latter’s best friend. Law cannot remember his name, only ever able to differentiate the athletic kid from the rest due to his unnatural hair, its color similar to that of seaweed. The tall boy is still wearing his Quidditch uniform and he falls to his knees before them, a hand hovering over Luffy’s hunched up form.

“What the hell happened?” he inquires, too concerned to actually suspect Law of K.O.ing the motionless Slytherin guy for reasons unknown and then Luffy for being his only witness or something along those lines.

Law’s just glad that he has someone reliable by his side – it’s clear that the other would readily piggyback Luffy all the way to the healing ward if he had to. “There’s no time for me to explain. Bring the first professor you see, his injuries are rather severe. I can’t guarantee the safety of his vocal chords if this curse isn’t properly dealt with,” the green-haired guy balks at Law’s grim prognosis – not that he’s too happy with it either, knowing perfectly well that it’s not too far from the truth.

“Everyone should be eating breakfast right now,” the guy winces, giving his surroundings a desperate onceover. “It’s gonna take ages to get to the hall. He’s… not gonna get worse before I come back, is he?” he asks, hesitant and fearful.

Law rolls his eyes at the green-haired kid’s naïveté. “Then help me take Luffy to the Healer. It’s going to be faster this way,” before he can even finish the sentence, the other is already hoisting up the unsteady, injured kid and collecting him into his arms. Law isn’t sure why he’s even needed there, but refuses to leave the two to their own devices, intent on seeing this through till the very end. He was there when Luffy got hit, after all. Abandoning the aforementioned boy would leave a bad aftertaste in his mouth – mostly because he’d feel as though he had somehow betrayed his calling.

“What about Bellamy?” the green-haired kid’s nose scrunches in distaste – he’s clearly not a big fan of Slytherin’s Seeker. He’s still noble enough to hesitate, unlike his companion who wants nothing more than to bolt.

Law turns to the petrified mountain, thankfully facing the ground. He knows that he’s going to receive the brunt of the blond’s wrath once he’s up and around, but they’ve had that confrontation coming for a while now. Law has no intentions of running away from it – except for now. He has other priorities to attend to. “Leave him,” he orders, voice cold and purposefully loud enough for Bellamy to hear. “If we run into some professor, we can direct them to him. It’d be unwise to undo the spell right now,” Law nods Luffy’s way. He looks _lifeless_ cradled in his best friend’s arms, eyes crossing and breathing nearly inaudible. It’s a pathetic sight, one that disturbs Law to the very depths of his cold soul. He’s far too used to seeing the other as the center of attention, too brave for his own good.

And look where that foolish recklessness got him.

The green-haired kid seems to agree, shooting the motionless student one final look before taking off in the direction of the castle, Law in tow.

“What sort of nasty shit he’s been cursed with?” he growls when Luffy spits blood on his red and gold uniform. “He could’ve _died_ if no one was around.”

“That’s unlikely,” Law huffs, annoyed at having to run this early in the morning. “Bellamy would’ve waited for him to pass out from the shock and undone the spell.”

“I’ve never seen anything quite like it before.”

“It’s rare. A strong, disgusting spell. _Aculeous_ makes rose thorns grow inside the victim’s trachea – if it’s not undone on time, the victim slowly chokes to death. It’s a curse meant for torture purposes,” Law explains with his usual studious calmness and frowns when the green-haired kid _winces_ at the morbid description, audibly swallowing. The latter keeps telling Luffy that they’re almost there and that everything is going to be alright, seemingly convincing himself rather than the limp figure lying unbearably still in his arms.

“You could’ve undone the petrification spell and asked Bellamy to remove this bullshit,” the nameless dude accuses once they’re inside and on their way to the upper floors of the castle. The hallways are void of tired students and they’ve yet to encounter any adults who might help.

Law rolls his eyes at that. “If you know him as well as I do, then you should know that Bellamy would’ve kicked my ass for attacking him from behind and made everything so much worse for Luffy.” The _“I generously saved his life without being asked to”_ goes unspoken.

He’s met with no argument. He doesn’t need to see the green-haired boy’s face to know that he’s glaring, voice sharp and venomous when he states “I’m gonna kill that fucking asshole.”

“Save it for the Quidditch match,” Law mumbles in reply and pushes aside the heavy double doors leading to the healing ward.

* * *

 

News of Luffy’s less-than-favorable condition spreads like wildfire and by noon everyone at Hogwarts has heard at least some variation of what has actually occurred outside.

However, no one seems to know that Law is involved in the formula equating to Monkey D. Luffy spitting out rosebush parts, blood and ending up bedridden for three days straight, occasionally coughing out pink petals on the white bedsheets. Well, no one except for Luffy’s closest friends who barge into the healing ward the moment Healer Hililuluk reluctantly gives them permission if only for the sake of getting some peace of mind and hard-earned silence.

However, they don’t expect to find Trafalgar Law sitting on the only chair in the room and calmly reading while Luffy napped away, wheezing a little due to the lingering petals plaguing his lungs. At least those didn’t tear open _holes_ in his mouth and whenever Law looked at the tired boy, he wished (with a burning passion) for Bellamy to get his gorilla ass expelled even though he knew that it wasn’t very likely. Their headmaster was far too resilient.

“What are you doing here?” hisses the second year Hufflepuff with a barely tamed afro and a nose of impressive proportions, immediately hiding behind the only Slytherin girl in the room when Law meets his eye.

He feels the telltale beginnings of an upcoming migraine and refocuses on the book, trying to appear as unassuming as possible. “The same thing you are,” he shrugs, gaze flickering to Luffy when the boy produces a cough. “I’m making sure that he doesn’t choke on the shit that’s been planted in his respiratory system.”

“Yeah, but _why_?” asks another boy, a Hufflepuff as well. He’s ridiculously small, even for a first year – Law would’ve easily mistaken him for a child. The high-pitched voice doesn’t help. “It’s not like he’s your –“ he cuts himself off mid-sentence when he spots the amused quirk of Law’s eyebrows, as though the latter was expecting something. Law knows what the mousy boy means – he’s not Luffy’s friend or even housemate; as far as the little kid’s concerned he’s the creepy guy everyone should be wary of. Simply put, Law is someone who doesn’t care for the well-being of others – doesn’t possess the emotions necessary to feel any sympathy.

If the kid actually had it in him to voice out those concerns, he wouldn’t be too far off with that analysis in particular – Law really is an unsympathetic, heartless bastard. He’s aware of it. Anyone would be if they grew up with someone like Doflamingo around. Yet, despite all of that, he still can’t make heads or tails of his voluntary decision to lurk around Luffy while the latter healed. He doesn’t know why he’s here to begin with – he simply could’ve left along with the green-haired kid when he was asked to.

“I think you should go,” the Slytherin girl speaks up in an attempt to disperse the awkward silence, voice cold and brown eyes betraying intense dislike. Law thinks of her as gutsy – not many people have the balls to tell him off like that.

He wants to snap at her, tell her that it’s a public space and that she doesn’t own Luffy, none of them do, but then the green-haired guy from before re-enters through the gap in the pale blue partition.

He rapidly blinks and then looks around as though surprised, evaluating the severity of the tense situation. “Oh. You’re still around.”

Law nods, noncommittal.

The rest gape at the newcomer as though there’s something seriously wrong with him and then all but explode into questions, only lowering their tones when the healer warns them to shut the hell up. “You just left him here without any supervision? What if he did something? What were you thinking?”

The green-haired guy attempts to counter their well-placed jibes and on-point statements until one of the Hufflepuffs goes off about him being a “dense, brainless algae” and forces the boy in question to put down his foot. It doesn’t take a genius to notice that he’s pissed off, “Enough. I can’t forbid someone who saved Luffy’s ass to stick around.”

“But do you know for sure that it wasn’t _him_ ,” the Hufflepuff spits it out like a cuss, like Law’s mere existence is getting on his nerves, “who caused that confrontation in the first place?” the fiery blond yells out and then quickly remembers to keep his decibels in check, probing at the green-haired Gryff’s chest. “Were you there to see it with your own eyes?”

Law is almost touched when the green-haired boy looks the raging Hufflepuff in the eye and straight up lies “I was. I saw everything.” Then swats away the probing finger and growls, still annoyed, “Now will you stop bitching about it, curly brow?”

“Curly brow” reluctantly relents and crosses his arms across his chest, murmuring something about Bellamy being the bigger evil of the two, objectively speaking. The rest seem a little less wary now that they’ve heard it from the man himself. They’re still not okay with a complete stranger sticking around Luffy but no longer attempt to force Law outside either.

It’s awkward to say the least, especially when the green-haired kid looks at him for a moment too long, as though he’s trying to communicate something with that unyielding stare – a “don’t mention it” of sorts. A silent thank you for Law’s effort.

“I was there for the confession,” he then says and Law finally understands why Luffy’s friend trusts him this much. There’s absolutely no use in thinking that everything was the former’s fault now that they’ve confirmed the identity of the attacker. “Seems that Bellamy’s in deep shit with Crocodile. He’s dead set on bringing the dude’s guardian into this. Not that I blame him because that fucker needs to be knocked down a notch. I hope they kick him off the team at least.”

Law ignores the rest of the speech and then balks, gripping the book a little too tightly, knuckles whitening out. “Doflamingo?” he quietly asks and hopes this to be a lie – the head of Slytherin liked getting to the bottom of things, resulting in expulsions in the process. But it’s not Crocodile who Law fears, nor is it the thought of being booted out.

No one seems to notice his discomfort and Green Hair continues, “Yeah. Almost makes me feel sorry for him.”

“Well I think it’s what he deserves,” the orange-haired bossy girl says, running careful fingers over Luffy’s forehead to check out the boy’s temperature. “He’s a nasty fellow. If he disappeared, everything would be so much better back in our common room.”

“That’s a bit too much, don’t you think so, Nami?” Long Nose mumbles distractedly and continues looking around as though he’s searching for possible eavesdroppers. For now, the healing ward is empty except for a distant, occupied bed – however, Law has no doubt in his mind that more than half of these cots will be occupied once Quidditch season officially starts. And knowing that the opening match is set between Gryffindor and Slytherin…

“She’s right,” Law snaps the book shut and rubs at his tired eyes. He looks like a raccoon – then again, when doesn’t he? “He’s the worst. He provoked Luffy into drawing his wand by threatening to knock Portgas off the broom.”

The Slytherin girl – apparently called Nami – has no time to be appalled by Law’s mindless agreement to her opinion before his explanation sets in. “He what!?” she gasps, equal parts mad and horrified.

The reaction from the rest is similar – it’s as though they take it as a personal offense. It cements Law’s opinion on Ace even further – the guy is too damn loved for his own good. Green Hair darkly murmurs that he should’ve kicked Bellamy’s ass when he had the chance.

“Threatening Ace in front of Luffy… outrageous,” Nami seethes, face red from anger. Mindlessly, Law notices that the hue makes her freckles stand out even more. Besides her, the rowdy blond Hufflepuff – Sanji – nods in agreement, back pressed against the windowsill and looking into the distance – the direction of the Quidditch pitch to be exact, clearly musing over something.

With a firm nod and a determined exhale, he turns to Law. He stopped glowering a while ago but the look in his blue eyes is far from friendly. “You’ve been here since the start, right?”

Law doesn’t bother to grace him with a vocal response, nodding stiffly.

“That was hours ago,” he states with a prolonged hum, “perfect.”

No one questions it too much when Sanji gently moves Nami aside and occupies her seat, comfortably leaning over the sleeping kid. Law raises an eyebrow in surprise and somewhat faint amusement. The rest seem to be lost in a similar state of confusion when they all observe Sanji, who lightly slaps the side of Luffy’s face and then follows up the strange action with an off-handed remark “I heard they serve the best steaks in the hospital.”

The effect is instantaneous. The blond masterfully dodges Luffy’s curled up hands, avoiding what could’ve been a seriously mean punch to the face, and Law’s jaw drops when the boy _who seemed dead up to this point_ , eagerly inquires “Meat!? Where?”

“Are you for real?” Law murmurs to himself, astonished, and nearly gets pushed off the chair when Luffy’s friends crowd around the cot, talking over each other, some with tears shining in their eyes.

“I’m all good!” Luffy reassures, snickering at his shortest friend’s dramatic reaction – the kid is straight up bawling into Luffy’s petal-covered lap. His laughter is bizarre – the faint _shishishi_ makes Law frown; seemingly an automatic, repulsed reaction that’s been programmed into Law’s DNA without his consent or knowledge. It’s just as he’d thought – he simply cannot stand prolonged exposure to the energetic kid. “But damn am I starving! Zoro slept in so I at least managed to sneak in some bites! Did you try those scrambled eggs!? I thought I died and went to heaven.”

“You cleared out three plates before I dragged you outside, Luffy,” Green Hair – Zoro, apparently, Law makes mental note to remember his name for future reference; he doesn’t like living in debt – speaks up, a smirk pulling at his lips.

“Not enough!” Luffy huffs and crosses his arms. Law decides to bail as quickly and as quietly as possible, no longer needed now that the noisy kid has fully come to it. Right as he gets up to leave, though, he’s stopped dead in tracks by Luffy’s inquisitive tone. “Hm? Aren’t you the guy who took down Bellamy?”

Law tenses up, a hand wrapped around the old creaky chair, his back turned to the fussy friend group. He considers wordlessly leaving but something in the boy’s voice forces him to sit back down as though he’s been given an unvoiced command. “I am,” he says quietly, and fingers at the loose thread poking out of his school robe, fully aware of Luffy’s intense gaze on him. Waiting for the inevitable recognition, for Portgas’ warnings to click inside Luffy’s slow-working brain and for him to kick Law out. Perhaps even call Law creepy for watching him sleep and staying here for as long as he did.

Luffy defies all of his expectations in the blink of an eye. It raises Law’s hackles, this thrill of unpredictability. The black-haired boy tilts his head to the side and then beams, the small action making Law avert his gaze. “Ehh! That means you’re super strong, right? The way you just – _BAM!_ ” Law startles at the loud noise, too focused on the conversation to take pleasure in the fact that the rest seem just as unaccustomed to Luffy’s peculiar behavior. “Appeared out of nowhere and knocked him out! Super cool,” he bounces on the squeaky mattress, readjusting himself to sit Indian style. His pants are still magically rolled up, staying in place no matter how much he moves. “Oh! Also you did that glowy thing with your wand while I was choking! Thanks, man, you really saved my life there.”

Law goes wide-eyed at being _thanked_ for saving someone’s life when he’s too used to taking it away, used to torturing people to the point he could actually see their life-force seeping out of their bodies. But now there’s _Luffy_ whom he’d chosen to save when he could’ve simply turned away and ignored it all, when he could’ve avoided his future confrontation with _Doflamingo_ for getting in Bellamy’s way. It’s crazy and he’s probably insane and he has absolutely nothing to say in return other than keep listlessly staring ahead while trying to ignore the multiple gazes drilling into him, most of them reevaluating his entire character.

Law remains quiet as a mouse, an uncomfortable flush overtaking his cheeks. His eyes are beginning to water to due to the lack of moisture – he vaguely realizes that it’s been a long while since he last blinked, thinking that if he did, all of this would fade away and end up being a bizarre dream where he’s the good guy instead of being rotten to the core. That he’d end up waking up on the cold, hard floor of Doflamingo’s mansion which he hasn’t seen in literal months, thank fucking god for that.

“I should be going,” Law stutters, thankfully sounding dignified enough, and rises once more but Luffy determinedly grabs at the flowing sleeve of his robe before he can even attempt to put a safe amount of distance between them.

“Not so fast!” Luffy whines, _actually whines_ , and Law is weak in every sense of the word. His legs turn into jelly and he feels the urge to sit down so he does, flops right next to Luffy. It takes a moment to realize that it’s the latter who makes him fall – Luffy doesn’t waste time in dragging Law to bed with him, stranger or not. He doesn’t care about the boundaries set between people, bravely dancing over them, nor does he care about the concept of personal space – something that he is currently violating, making half of Law’s neck disappear into the pristine white collar of his dress shirt, visibly intimidated. “You have to tell me your name! I can’t just have my savior walking out on me, now can I?”

Law straightens up, firmly ignoring the supposedly knowing looks that Zoro shoots his way. The guy seems far too smug for his own good and for the life of him, Law cannot comprehend _why_. He finds out (the hard way) that it’s better not to question any of these kids, this strange, mish-mashed group of people continuously gravitating towards the sun that is Luffy. He clears his throat and then introduces himself. “It’s Trafalgar Law.”

At least his voice doesn’t crack, saving him some embarrassment. To his side, Nami snickers into her fist.

Luffy turns over the name inside his head but it clearly doesn’t seem to ring any bells – nor does Law’s epitome-of-average appearance. The latter wonders if Portgas would be losing his shit right now but the guy isn’t here to scold his younger brother for being too trusting of assholes with a long history of violence. Luffy slaps Law’s shoulder in an overly-familiar display of affection without bothering to withhold any bull-like strength that he possesses and returns the gesture. “I’m Luffy! It’s nice to meet you, Tra… Trafafa,” he then shrugs, never losing the grin, “Traffy!”

“Trafalgar,” Law corrects automatically, only mildly annoyed, and glares at those who actually burst out laughing at his expense.

“Alright, Traffic!”

“Trafalgar.”

It’s Zoro who cuts off what is clearly Luffy teasing the shit out of his new victim- pardon, friend. “Don’t wanna be _that guy_ and interrupt what seems to be the start of a beautiful friendship, but _Traffy_ has to go,” he says good-naturedly, relishing in the undignified response that he receives from the school’s terror. “He’s been keeping an eye on you for hours now and I’m sure he’s tired.”

If Law wasn’t blushing before, he surely does now, feeling just a little betrayed. He didn’t want Luffy to get any ideas upon finding out that he actually did a whole lot more than just cast a spell and help Zoro haul his hexed ass to the healer’s.

Luffy nearly gets fucking starry-eyed and when he whispers an amazed “really?”, Law decides that he’s had enough exposure to idiocy and sunshine combined. He makes his leave, rolling his eyes when Zoro follows in tow, Luffy’s whine of “Traffy, don’t leave yeeeeeet” carrying all the way to the hall.

“You’re gonna get used to it,” Zoro reassures in an attempt to break the ice and Law sighs, too tired to deal with this right now.

He takes a moment to collect himself and then faces the smug seaweed bastard “If you think that this isn’t the end to my cooperation with – look, it’s not gonna happen again. We’re not gonna talk,” Law fixes the strap of his messenger bag just for the sake of having something to do, “I’ve no intention of associating myself with Monkey D. Luffy of all the people, so return to his bedside, and, I don’t know, make sure that he doesn’t wind up in similar situations again,” he trails off, trying to avoid sounding, god forbid, worried.

Zoro’s eyebrows nearly disappear in the hairline of his short-trimmed hair. He clearly doesn’t believe a single word coming out of Law’s traitorous mouth, but the latter can’t be bothered by it – he’s not here to analyze the Gryff’s stiff body language. “Cool, do what you think is right. No one’s gonna force you,” he grins at that and Law feels threatened, feels as though this has happened before, more than once, with different people from different houses, years, and backgrounds involved. “Thanks for looking out for him. Teach me that spell next time.”

“They’re going to teach you that at DADA on your fourth year. Also, as I mentioned before,” Law makes an arc with his hand, rolling his eyes for emphasis. “No next time.”

Zoro shrugs. “I’ll see you around then. The name’s Roronoa Zoro, by the way.”

Law feels compelled to say “I know,” even though he knew jack shit till Luffy woke up and filled him in on all of the missing names of his little friend group.

It makes the green-haired guy’s eyebrow quirk in amusement. “And here I thought that you weren’t listening to our conversation.”

“I wasn’t,” Law lies, “Now do yourself a favor and stay away from me from now,” he warns before they part ways, Law rushing off in the direction of the library – he needs to sort out his muddled thoughts.

Thankfully, Roronoa has enough common sense not to follow.

* * *

 

Law is dazedly heading back to the common room when a pair of dexterous hands drag him into an empty classroom and he doesn’t need to look back to know that it’s Baby who gleefully whispers into his ear, “You are in soooo much trouble.”

Law keeps a straight face and shakes her off, frowning when he notices Dellinger by her side – the newest addition to their Hogwarts “family”. The kid looks at him as though he’s entertained by Law’s misery and Law would like nothing more than to snap his twig-like neck in half. He’s always hated the brat, the way he reminded him of Doflamingo – a person seemingly born evil. “Doffy says that he’s gonna let you off the hook this time but if you keep associating yourself with the D. clan, he’s going to reconsider and take you back to Mariejois.”

“We’ll be watching you,” Dellinger simpers around a piece of gum. Law wants him to choke. “Can’t have you making friends with our natural enemies, can we?”

“You can tell him that my life is none of his business,” Law says coldly and reaches for the door handle but Dellinger slams his foot on the heavy door – a warning.

He laughs into Law’s ear. “I don’t think you understand your current situation, brother,” he says, sounding at least a decade older. “Doffy _owns_ you. You can’t defy him. You might’ve forgotten that during your stay with Corazon at Dressrosa, but he’s going to bring you back if you go against his direct orders. And he’s going to make Corazon disappear for being unable to bend your earned “free will”,” he pops a bubble and observes Law’s emotionless face, waiting to gouge a satisfying reaction. “It’s gonna be your fault, Tra.”

Law takes a moment to collect himself, slowly breathing in through the mouth. His hands begin to shake so he hides them in his pockets, refusing the urge to bring out the hidden wand – either to hex the kid or to stab it into his eye socket. He doesn’t know which one he wants more. Both, probably. “If you’re done harassing me, I’m going to take my leave.”

“It’s fun to see you struggle,” Dellinger hums and when Law rewards him with his most acidic stare, he backs off, whining to Baby about Tra-bro being scary. He doesn’t wait for a dismissal – doesn’t need one - and walks outside, mood sour.

* * *

 

During their time together, Corazon tells Law stories. Some real, some not, but all are equally engaging despite Law’s feigned whining about Cora acting like an embarrassing suburban dad at a BBQ party. They’d stay up late into the night and sit on their cramped terrace, with Law stargazing and memorizing the constellations while Corazon would chainsmoke and proceed to spin wondrous tales and then talk about meaningless things for hours until he’d realize that Law was a kid with a strict sleep schedule to maintain. Now that Law thinks about it, despite being passionate about what he did, Corazon would make a terrible father – too resilient and super embarrassing.

He sometimes wonders just when exactly he’d started viewing his benefactor as a parental figure.  A long time ago, Law had his own, biological family along with a full surname to prove it. One that made Corazon’s eyes widen when Law finally decided to disclose it.

They had to keep the D. part of his name a secret from the rest. Apparently this one insignificant letter held some sort of mysterious power, a thing that Doflamingo wouldn’t have appreciated. That man would never allow the D. clan’s scum to freeload in his ancient mansion stunk up with centuries-old pureblood pride.

Corazon says that the blood running in Law’s veins is special. He, too, is an inheritor of the Will of the D. – the first wizard family brave enough to go against the structured, uptight pureblood-only world by marrying muggles. As if in a chain reaction, their bold actions started changing the stagnant ages-old beliefs that the wizards and witches had upheld. The D. clan is the clan of freedom – they’re the natural enemies of the magic world hiding in the shadows. Needless to say, they’re considered to be traitors of the purebloods, an infection spreading with every muggle to wizard marriage.

Law never pays attention to the massive weight that he bears, often forgetting all about that D. clan nonsense which singles him out. Right now, though, he’s being repeatedly slapped across the face by a brutal reality check – Doflamingo doesn’t know that Law’s a born rebel but he _does_ know about Luffy and because of that, they should never cross paths again for Law’s own sake. He isn’t willing to risk his freedom and safety in Dressrosa for an eager brat, one who is more than willing to attach himself to Law’s hip now that he’s confirmed that Law is a good guy worth persuading.

Luffy doesn’t leave him the hell alone.

At first it’s easy to brush him off – Law is a master of disappearing in thicker crowds, not to mention he knows the key moments when to channel that classic “asshole attitude” – but with every passing day, Luffy becomes more and more persistent, to the point he ends up inserting himself between Robin and Law at Ravenclaw’s table, happily stuffing his face full of curry and mashed potatoes, getting crumbs everywhere. The Ravens don’t mind the noisy, ill-mannered guest, neither does Robin, but Law feels his eyebrow twitch at Luffy’s bold approach and is forced to leave mid-dinner, unwilling to meet the pairs of eyes following him from Slytherin’s table, analyzing Law’s every move, ready to tell on him if needed.

At least Bellamy stays in his own goddamn lane now that Doflamingo has threatened him into behaving and laying low. He doesn’t get expelled but is forced to leave the Quidditch team regardless – a fact that makes Ravenclaw’s players hoot with joy. Zoro too, probably, but Law hasn’t spoken to the green-haired kid in weeks.

Luffy doesn’t chase after him despite Law’s theatrics, far too focused on the food in his plate – the kid is as gluttonous as they come, food being his priority in life – but Corazon does, offering Law to continue dinner in the privacy of his small office – he surely has some leftover snacks in there, and if not, well, they’re both suckers for black tea.

“What’s bothering you?” Corazon asks once the kettle whistles and he prepares the fancy tea, wide back turned to Law. The latter munches on stale cinnamon cookies, lost in thought. “You seem more… glum than usual.”

“’M not glum,” Law grouches even though they both know that it’s a weak little lie meant to divert Corazon’s keen, parental eye. “I’m mad.”

“Why?”

 _Why?_ Oh, it’d take Law an entire year to list out all of the things that make him boil underneath the cool exterior  – Doflamingo, Bellamy, Baby, Buffalo, Dellinger, Mariejois, threats, studies. _Luffy._   He can’t tell Corazon all of that though, doesn’t want to disclose more than is absolutely necessary, so he sticks with a simple “that Monkey kid won’t leave me be.”

Corazon hums and sets down Law’s cup. He knows all about the weight that these words carry – after all, Corazon’s the one who told Law to keep low for a while. It just wasn’t wise to stick around the D. kids after a statement this bold. “I don’t think you’re mad, Law,” he calmly says after a tense moment filled with the sound of the grandfather clock counting down seconds. “I think that you’re upset?”

Law huffs out a strained laugh – no more than a mirthless breath. He feels miserable and he has no idea why.  It’s easier to blame it all on annoyance, anger, fear. He’s fucking afraid of messing this up, afraid of becoming close with Luffy. “Upset? Why would I be upset?”

“Because that boy is the first person to actively pursue you and you can’t return the sentiment due to your current… predicament.”

Law’s head snaps upwards to look at the tall man. He feels himself becoming angry with the other – Corazon has an astonishing gift of insight. He sees Law’s flaws before he himself becomes aware of their existence and it’s so goddamn frustrating and downright terrifying at times. “I don’t want to be friends with that menace. Just because I helped him out once doesn’t mean that he owes me friendship. I only did it because no one else was around. And now he thinks that he can just,” Law’s curled palms twitch on his legs, “march into my life unannounced and make a mess of it. I don’t want him to. And I don’t care for him,” he adds, quieter. His head drops again, shoulders hunching. “I don’t,” Law reassures himself rather than his guardian, not noticing the shivers racing down his back.

God, he’s so fucking alone.

Watching Luffy brings him a disgusting feeling of blind joy and warmth and those are things that Law doesn’t deserve, has no right to hold onto. He’s already having too good of a life – he has _Corazon_ and people he could, if pressed, refer to as friends. Having Luffy around would positively kill him, would kill this perfectly maintained balance, and rob Law of what little happiness he has; of the house at Dressrosa and Corazon. The man Law reluctantly considers family.

Law doesn’t want to experience loss ever again but Dellinger’s evil threats keep him up at night, fueling his insomnia even further.

“My little boy,” Corazon says, gentle, resting a hand on Law’s fluffy mane, ruffling it to soothe him. The kid relishes in the feeling of affection. “You shouldn’t hesitate. You’re young and you’re free here; do well to never forget that. If making friends with more people would make you happy, you should definitely go for it. Now, I’m not encouraging you to up and hold hands in public,” he snorts at Law’s scandalized look at the mere implication, “but you shouldn’t withhold. Do what makes you feel nice and what feels right. Don’t pay too much attention to the Donquixotes or you’ll lose sight of what’s important,” he goes down to one knee before Law so that they’re eye-level.

“And that might be?” the boy asks, searching Corazon’s smiling face for answers that it refuses to give.

The fair-haired man taps a finger against Law’s chest, right over his heart. “Freedom, Law. It’s the most important feeling in the world. It’s the only lesson I can teach you.”

“But what about you?” Law asks without hesitating, worried. Baby and Dellinger’s faces flash in the back of his head – he never told Corazon about the indirect threat to his life.

He nearly bites his lip at the slip-up and Corazon snorts at out of character reaction. “Me? Oh, please, kid, don’t you even worry about _me_ of all the people. I can handle some turbulence. They won’t get rid of me that easily.”

Law exhales, feeling exhausted and only somewhat reassured. He could go for a nap. Corazon stands up only with some minor “turbulence”, spilling half of Law’s tea in the process, and the young boy steels himself, defeated. “Promise me that you won’t get yourself killed and then I might reconsider.”

Corazon waves one dismissive hand in the air, the other working on a lighter, back turned to his charge. “Yeah, I promise to never die,” when he faces Law again, there’s some unfamiliar form held in his hands, “now then, how do you feel about Hogsmeade? I’ve the signed form right here so,” he shoves the envelope into Law’s slack hands, “hand this to Shanks and I dunno, go out and have fun. Buy that Monkey kid some sweets as an apology.”

Law wordlessly accepts the papers and leaves.

* * *

 

He buys Corazon a new hat and a small bag of sweets that Shachi and Penguin have recommended. The entire way back to the castle, Law repeatedly tries to fool himself into thinking that the goods are for him alone – a treat of sorts, for all the hard work he’s been doing lately, never losing his trophy student title – but before he knows it, his feet carry him to a familiar hall – the one where he usually runs into Luffy. Apparently, the latter’s favorite spot is located somewhere around there – Law has to agree, the view from the glass clock tower has a certain kind of charm to it – so it’s no surprise when he hears Luffy’s loud voice echoing in the vacated hallways – most of the kids were still hanging around outside, yet to return from Hogsmeade.

He halts when he hears the bits of the ensuing conversation, reluctant to round the corner just yet – the urgency in the voices seems important enough to postpone the unplanned visit. “-and I get it, alright? I understand! But please listen to me and Sabo every now and then too, Lu!” Law has never heard Portgas raise his voice like that, but somehow knows that it’s him without even having to check.

“Nothing you say will make me change my mind!” Luffy yells back, defiant. It’s followed by a huff and Law can visualize the other crossing his arms. “It’d be nice if you trusted me more! We’re brothers, aren’t we?”

 “That’s precisely why we’re so concerned, Luffy,” a new, far more soothing voice interrupts. Law thinks that he’s heard it before though he cannot pin a name to the face. He assumes that it’s the guy named Sabo. “We understand, you can decide things for yourself but you tend to… not fully think things through, overlook crucial details, and most important of all – rush into things,” Luffy gasps at the accusations even if they’re true. “Ace is right, you know. We’re brothers, that’s why we want what’s the best for you. We’ve only your best interests in mind.”

“Well it seems to me that right now you’ve no idea what’s good for me!” Luffy stomps a foot like a petulant child, unwilling to hear the other out. “You’re the ones being mean, not to mention rude! You can’t tell me to stop being friends with someone just because of some dumb rumors. That’s – that’s dumb!” he finishes lamely and suddenly Law has a nagging feeling as to whom he is referring to. 

“Luffy –“ Portgas pleads, tone still firm with that pretentious sibling authority and that’s when Law decides to put an end to this nonsense, surprised that Luffy would defend him so. The latter’s arguments could easily be used against him, too, seeing that Luffy knew nothing about Law as a person.

He casually steps into the empty hallway, pretending that he hasn’t heard anything and faking a surprised expression for the sake of making it more convincing. It’s insincere enough to piss off Portgas. “Oh,” Law exclaims with all the emotionlessness that he can muster and eyes the trio dressed in their autumn clothes, dirt clinging to the soles of their boots, leaving multiple prints on the floor. Law thinks that his own shoes are no better – it’s been raining for a week straight. All of the dusty roads leading out of the castle have turned into a slippery mess. “Didn’t know anyone was around. I can go if I’m interrupting something.”

Portgas looks close to popping a blood vessel and strangling Law with his bright orange knit scarf. He opens his mouth to say something along the lines of “yes, now get bent, fuckface” but he’s interrupted by Luffy’s ecstatic “Traffy!”

The hyperactive kid affectionately rams himself into Law’s front nearly knocking out the latter’s breath just for the sake of pissing off his older, visibly disturbed, siblings. His soft face and gentle features twist into a supposedly menacing pout when Luffy looks over his shoulder, nose high in the air. “Ace is being a butt for not letting me hang out with you,” he states, not bothering to mince his words in the slightest, making the blond – yeah, that’s definitely Sabo, Law remembers him – put his face into his gloved hands with a loud wince and a muffled mutter about Luffy being tactless as hell.

Law glances up with raised eyebrows, fighting off the urge to smirk. He intentionally rests a hand on Luffy’s bony shoulder covered by an oversized maroon coat. Portgas looks as though he’s mentally setting Law on fire whereas that Sabo fellow is still at a loss of what to say, do or how to react. His scarred face significantly darkens with every word to escape Trafalgar’s mouth. “ _Ace_ wants what’s the best for you, _Luffy_ ,” Law chirps with faux sweetness and there goes the blondie, glowering their way no worse than Portgas.

Luffy actually _hides_ his face in Law’s shoulder. “Well, Ace doesn’t know how cool you are and he –” the kid raises his voice so that the teen in question can hear him loud and clear despite the decent amount of distance, “he doesn’t know how nice you are for saving me back there just because you wanted to and he doesn’t know that I’d trust you with my life once again if needed!”

The random confession throws Law off his game, tired eyes widening. If they were alone, he’d correct Luffy’s statement about him doing the saving of his own free will – it was more of an obligation rather than a mere whim, he would’ve hated himself afterwards.

Portgas makes the supposedly touching moment crash and burn, huffing like an enraged bull – just like Luffy tended to whenever Law would reject him, using some lame ass excuse in order to slip away. “Okay, I’ve had enough of this. Lu, let’s go,” he doesn’t ask, he _insists_ and the aforementioned kid sticks out his lower lip even further, this time actually glaring, the ever-present air of sweetness and airheaded kindness momentarily set aside.

“No.”

“Don’t make this hard for us,” Portgas grits out and Law squints at the former’s constipated expression. Is this an indirect confrontation? Will he be forced to hex it out? And he’s been doing such a good job avoiding duels with random people over stupid things.

Luffy wraps himself around Law’s arm like a vine, nearly growling. Law doesn’t know what to make of it – the fact that someone would fight over him, _for him_ , is surreal enough to nearly make him dissociate right then and there. “Stay back,” Luffy warns lowly, “don’t you do anything, Ace, or I won’t talk to you for the rest of the year!” he threatens as an afterthought and the concept of it makes the freckled boy halt, expression betraying hurt.

Luffy uses that moment to his advantage. In a blink of an eye, he lets go of Law’s by now sore arm and unceremoniously stomps behind the taller boy, firmly planting his feet on the ground and lowering himself into a pose comfortable enough to wrap his arms around Law’s shoulders and the backs of his knees.

He then picks Law up, bridal style, as though the other weights no more than a quill. Law is too busy screaming internally to even think of struggling.

When he does, Luffy throws him over a shoulder like a wriggling potato sack, patting his thighs a few times to supposedly calm the fussy boy down. “I’m gonna drop you if you keep moving around like that,” Luffy tells him, not one bit strained.

Law squeaks in overwhelming shame, face hotter than the surface of a preheated pan. “You better drop me now! Right now!” he uselessly kicks at the air but Luffy effortlessly carries him to Ace and Sabo who are rendered speechless by their little brother’s resolve and defiance. Law is glad that he cannot see their faces, one hand fisting the thick material of Luffy’s coat, the other covering his eyes.

This is so, so utterly embarrassing. He’s going to stab himself the moment he gets to stand on his own two feet. Or maybe Luffy. Maybe even Luffy and himself at the same time.

“Set him down, Lu,” Sabo sighs in defeat, tone still disapproving. “We got your point – at least I did, not so sure about Ace.”

There’s a lack of reply. Law would feel smug if he wasn’t too busy reeling.

Luffy patiently waits for the older one’s response, seemingly in no rush whatsoever. The longer he does, the more humiliated Law feels, awkwardly hanging off the shoulder of a kid who is a year his junior not to mention nearly an entire head shorter. He gives up on struggling midway through into the awkward exchange – Luffy seems to be superhuman. He isn’t fazed by the other’s lame attempts at struggling in the slightest, viciously pinching Law’s butt when the latter decides to play dirty and grabs at the soft strands growing out of Luffy’s extremely tender scalp.

It seemingly takes years for Portgas to process what the fuck’s going on and all that he has to say to it is a grumpy “no.”

It’s enough for Luffy to go off – badly enough to shock the older ones into silence once more. “You know what, screw your “no”. Nope, I do what I want and I live how I want, I don’t care. Traffy is my friend and you can’t make me change my mind. I’m leaving,” Luffy huffs, jostles Law until he secures him and then carries him out of the chilly hallway, making Law keep awkward eye contact with the sibling duo until they round the corner. Normally, Law would’ve flicked Ace the bird – one final blow to celebrate his victory – but he just sorta… limply hangs there, without saying a single word and letting Luffy carry him god knows where, his only thought being “well, I guess that happened.”

* * *

 

They end up sitting under the protruding railings outside, listening to the gentle pitter patter of the rain. Luffy stretches while Law remains quiet, thinking of nothing whatsoever despite the surreal happenings. Corazon’s new hat still rests on his head – it looks just like his red one, but this hat is black to match the ridiculous feathered coat and has tassels instead of strung up hearts – and the bag of candy is still secure in Law’s tiny backpack. He resigns himself to his predetermined fate and then tells Luffy to catch the container of Bertie Bott’s; some weird jellybean candy heatedly recommended by Shachi.

Luffy goes starry-eyed upon seeing the transparent jar and when he says “you’re like my best friend ever,” he sounds like he means it. “First time at Hogsmeade?”

Law nods.

“Nice! Can’t wait till next year, gonna try my luck at getting gramps to sign the form. He wouldn’t sign Ace’s because he says that it’s safer for him to stay in the castle so Sabo never goes either,” Luffy swings his thin legs back and forth – for once his pants are lowered. Law thinks over the short story and figures that it must suck; being the assassinated ex-minister’s only living son and all. He still dislikes the guy, though. “I wanna go so that I can find the rumored secret passageways that lead from Honeydukes’ basement to Hogwarts. Then I can bring Ace along!” he laughs his weird _shishishi_ laughter and without waiting for Law’s response, asks if he’s bought anything else – visiting Honeydukes for the first time ever and getting only one thing is unthinkable.

Law unceremoniously shakes out the contents of his bag on the bench. They make up a decent pile and when Luffy shoots him an uncertain look, Law realizes that he’s waiting for some sort of sign, a good to go. He sighs, “Dig in. I don’t know what half of this stuff is anyways.”

Luffy is on the sweets before he can finish putting away the backpack, picking through the stuff he likes and likes less – there’s no such thing as bad food when it comes to Luffy, unless, of course, it tastes really gross and is basically inedible – heatedly commenting on his choices. It keeps Law engaged in the one-sided conversation pretty well, after all, this is new to him - he doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth so he’d turn down wizards’ candy back at Mariejois. Law hardly ate muggle candy as well, dark chocolate being his favorite.

“Aw man, got another old man Newgate,” Luffy whines when he turns over the card from the choco frog between his fingers. The moving portrait of their headmaster quivers his thick, moon-shaped moustache at them – an indication that the man is laughing. “Got like six of those in the past month.

Law can hardly believe this because this is the only Hogwarts headmaster that he’s been missing in his ever-growing collection of famous figures of the wizarding world, safely tucked away in a small wooden box. “In that case you’ll have to give me that,” he wiggles his fingers under Luffy’s reddened nose.

The younger kid ribbits/hiccups – Law doesn’t want to touch the peppermint candy shaped like frogs – and gazes at Law as though he’s just grown a second head.

“What?” he asks, suddenly self-conscious.

“Traffy, are you by any chance… collecting these cards?”

Law is compelled to say no in order to not reveal too many unnecessary facts about himself, so he feels pretty fucking appalled when his mouth chooses to betray him and says “sort of, I guess?” instead.

Luffy makes a prolonged “uwah!” noise and then coos “that’s… so cute actually!” earning a sharp clip on the back of the head.  Thankfully the kid lets it go, though he comments on it every now and then, supposedly subtly.

Law discovers that the hyperactive Gryff does not have a single subtle bone in his body.

Luffy is decidedly weird and Law still feels as though he’s being exposed to concentrated sunshine but this is perhaps the most fun he’s had this week and that says a lot considering the fact that so far it’s been… pretty decent, actually. It should say something about him as a person, make him question his choices, but all it does is make Law content and comfortable.

They’re midway through the jelly beans when Luffy gags, having nabbed a jalapeno-flavored one. He fans at his reddened tongue and then slurs at Law to fish out a mint one. The latter grabs the mintiest-looking bean, handing it to Luffy. The kid bravely bites into it and then makes a disgusted face, followed by a weak “bleagh”.

“I thought I told you _mint_ not grass, Traffy. I know it’s almost the same thing but,” he sticks out his tongue a few more times as if tasting the air. “This one tastes a whole lot less… leafy.”

Law shrugs it off – not his fault. “I’ve no clue which one is supposed to indicate mint,” he confesses, squinting at the suspiciously friendly-colored beans. Luffy has notified him that not all of them tasted like strawberries and vanilla pudding – this one time, Sabo ate one that tasted like glue. Needless to say, he didn’t touch these sweets ever again.

Luffy gapes at him as though Law has somehow offended him. “Seriously?”

“This is my first time eating these.”

The kid’s mouth forms a perfect ‘o’. Law braces himself for the tactless questions regarding his heritage – maybe Monkey D. “Pureblooded” Luffy will start looking down on him once he finds out that Law was born into a family of muggle doctors – but none come. Instead, the nonjudgmental kid pats his shoulder a few times as if consoling him for the loss of his wizard candy-filled childhood. “Oh. Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” he breaks the serious act when Law moodily slaps the offending limb away, grinning brightly. Luffy loves poking around his personal bubble. “You’ll get better. Now, for the flavors and the colors to avoid!” he changes the flow of conversation in a single sentence, wiggling his fingers and dark eyes refocused on the significantly less impressive pile of colorful sweets.

Law honestly doesn’t know what to make of him and pops a random jellybean into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. Makes a face when he tastes stale cabbages, completely ignoring Luffy’s chirp of “this one is too green to be mint, Traffy! You gotta look for the white ones!”

* * *

 

Needless to say, on the following day Law is positively overwhelmed by friendship.

They all knowingly smirk at Law’s sudden appearance at the Gryffindor table – Luffy had forcefully dragged him there despite Law trying to keep the body contact to a bare minimum, especially in public places, only allowing it after he’d noticed that none of the Donquixotes were around; it was already a bit too late into the morning – and Law almost feels insulted when Roronoa moves aside and pats at the stool; a clear indication for the former to sit next to him.

He does the opposite of what’s expected of him, choosing to sink into the free space between Nami and Sanji, earning a mean look from the blond – it’s clear that the guy has a thing for the orange-haired Slytherin girl, but from what Law has gathered; Sanji had a thing for a lot of Hogwarts’ girls. Roronoa seems infinitely amused by Law’s dumb display of defiance and leans over the table to say, “Glad that you finally see things our way. I knew you’d come around.”

“You can stop whatever it is that you’re doing,” Law says in reply, indirectly addressing the entire gang.

“Seriously, guys, lay off,” Nami sighs and rolls her eyes. An eye for an eye – she’s yet to forget Law agreeing with her all those weeks ago. “You’re embarrassing Traffy. He’s shy.”

“He is?” Luffy hoots in surprise and Law places his head in his palms while the rest cackle at his expense.

“You know what, fuck this, this was a mistake. I’m going now,” Law mumbles but Luffy barks a rushed “wait wait wait,” and grabs Law by the wrist, wrapping his arm around the crook of the elbow and locking Law in place, squeezing in between him and Nami.

Law resigns to exposure of idiocy and forced bonding, especially after he gets informed that there’s a Quidditch match set between Slytherin and Hufflepuff – explains the empty dining hall, really – and that he is to attend it, willingly or not.

Law attempts to explain that he’s uninterested in a bunch of jocks discreetly trying to kick each other off broomsticks while the ref wasn’t looking, but Luffy’s opinion is easily comparable to a death sentence. His orders are absolute and unquestionable, “But Traffy, you need to attend. How else will you know our next match’s lineup? You _are_ coming to see me play, right?” he warbles, giving Law the most intense, disgusting puppy eyes he’s ever seen, effectively destroying his ability to speak in the process.

Law hasn’t been to a single Quidditch match since his first year at Hogwarts– and only then, he went just to see what the hype was all about, getting bored ten minutes in. He has no idea how supposedly good Luffy is (according to Shachi’s completely biased opinion – really fucking good) nor does he know much about Quidditch in general, so the refusal rests right on the tip of his tongue, but somehow doesn’t make it past his lips.

Luffy blinks at him almost innocently, and, _oh god_ , rests his chin on Law’s stiff shoulder.

It’s Sanji who reluctantly takes pity, “cut that shit out, Luffy. Traffy here is going to hex half of Slytherin’s team mid-match and then set the stands on fire or something,” he waves a hand around for emphasis. Only now Law takes notice of all that extra yellow on the blond’s clothes. While Sanji doesn’t play, he’s a big fan of the sport and an even bigger fan of his house.

“But Bellamy isn’t there anymore, so he probably wouldn’t,” Chopper assumes and continues sipping at his mango juice.

Law shrugs and then tries to shake off Luffy’s noodle arm. Fails. “I would do all of that and more,” then, to Luffy, “so are you sure that you want me around there?”

The kid grins, affectionately headbutting his shoulder. “Hell yes? Less competition that way.”

Roronoa bursts out laughing, saying something along the lines of “true” and then runs a hand through his short, spiky hair, the action making it turn an obnoxious yellow. Law gapes, never having witnessed something quite like it – he’s heard of Polyjuice potion and appearance-altering spells, but this? Is completely new. “How’s that?” Zoro asks while Chopper and Usopp nod in approval.

Sanji calls him a cheap wannabe.

Law cuts them off before they can tear into each other. “How’d you do that?” he frowns, fighting off the urge to reach out and inspect the yellow strands.

Sanji does it in his stead, fingers painfully twisting in Zoro’s hair. “No-longer-marimo here is a shitty Metamorphagus.”

“You’re just jealous that you can’t get rid of your ugly curly brow whenever you feel like it!”

“What was that!”

“A what,” Law breathes out quietly, absentmindedly rubbing his chin with the Luffy-free hand.

Nami distracts Luffy with some sort of red stick covered in an abundance of sugar and raises her voice a little so that Law can hear him over the bickering pair. “It’s a mage born with the ability to alter their appearance at will. Zoro can only switch hair and eye colors though. It’s a little surprising that you, Mr. Top Student, didn’t know all of this before.”

“That’s because Traffy didn’t grow up in a wizard family,” Luffy slurps around the piece of candy.

Law considers shoving the treat deep down his throat in order to shut him up. He didn’t need to be exposed like this. On any other occasion, he would’ve been impressed by Luffy’s keen insight and deductive skills – he never did tell the boy anything about his personal life.

Nami only hums a small “oh!” in understanding and they sit in tense silence ‘til she decides to soothe Law’s rapidly fraying nerves, taking notice of his sheet-white face. “That’s alright,” she reassures and plays with her short hair. “Most of us come from mixed families – or families of purebloods who don’t care about that whole superiority shtick. For example, I grew up with my adopted sister Nojiko in the care of a witch. She’s in Ravenclaw too, you might’ve seen her around. Blue hair, tattoos. Sixth year.” Law nods in confirmation – he does know someone with those looks.

It’s too damn weird to see a Slytherin bare themselves to this extent though. “After they found out that I was the adoptive daughter of a muggle rights activist at the Ministry, they sort of stopped talking to me. I wasn’t bullied or anything but I didn’t really have any friends until Luffy came along,” she shoots a glossy-eyed look the mentioned boy’s way as though he has a halo spun of morning dew and fairy dust levitating above his head. Law sees the reality, though – the skinny brat drooling on a slowly disintegrating candy stick, one cheek repeatedly poked from the inside, making him look like a hamster stuffing its cheeks. He looks their way but it’s pretty clear that he isn’t fully listening to Nami’s sob story – the unfocused stare betrays this much at least.

Law doesn’t know what to say so Luffy does it for him, words slurring. “This whole bloodline thing is stupid. Ever since I got into Hogwarts everyone was all like,” he puts his hands up, wiggling the fingers and voice lowering, “”there he goes, Garp’s grandson, the heir of the Monkey family, descendant of the D. clan,” like I was some special guy? No, I grew up in the forest with Ace and Dadan and no one ever said anything about me being above them,” he air quotes. Law’s amazed that Luffy has it in him to sound bitter. “There were people who thought that Ace’s existence was unforgivable just because his dad was the Minister or whatever. I kicked their asses,” Ah, so that’s why. Portgas may love his little brother but Luffy clearly loved him more, even if he tended to disobey. He then counts something on his fingers, swallowing around the sticky treat. “M, I haven’t seen my Pops in seven years and I don’t even know who my real mom is, just that she’s a witch. And yet for some reason it means so much to the rest when it shouldn’t. And it doesn’t. And I’m gonna prove that to everyone in the school!” Luffy finishes the serious speech with a bright grin, killing the mood instantly. “Anyone who disagrees can fight me on it. I’ll beat the reality into them! Nothing will separate me from my friends.”

Nami looks exceptionally touched by it, fisting the hem of her dark green pleated skirt.

Law’s… intrigued, to say the least.

“You can’t fight the entire school, Luffy,” he says, bringing some realism into the conversation. “If you calculate the risks and take other factors into consideration, you’ll notice that it’s impossible. You’d lose midway,” Law summarizes when Luffy quizzically stares at him as though he’s speaking in a foreign language. Not one for fancy terms or mathematics, it seems – not like Law has expected anything to begin with.

Luffy only replies with “I’ll fight everyone, bring it on, and I will definitely win, Traffy!” and the latter thinks, that yeah, this is just like him. It’s _Luffy_ , of course he’d put his everything into having his way. “Hey.”

Luffy turns with a curious hum.

“You’re fucking weird,” Law snorts and moves aside without bothering to look back the moment Roronoa tackles Sanji over the expanse of the table.

“You’re strange as well,” he offhandedly tells Zoro (now red-haired) as well and moves his legs aside. The infuriating asshole grins at him, parroting Luffy’s “I get that a lot.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Umm, Charlotte!”

“Which one?”

“Both of them,”

“Hmm, I’d consider it but they’d probably say no.”

“Hancock.”

“Forget it.”

“Seriously? You’re turning down _The_ Boa Hancock.”

“She’s… not my type!” Nami gasps and pushes at the side of Usopp’s face, making the other laugh at the flustered reaction. “I bet _you_ wouldn’t say no to that!”

“Can’t argue with that!” the Hufflepuff shrugs and leans over the railing, still involved in the current game despite the easy-flowing conversation unofficially titled “who would you totally smooch in the teams currently playing the match.” It’s the second Gryffindor vs Slytherin match-up of the season.

Law buries himself into the red and gold scarf even deeper, wanting this to be over already. Nami had heartlessly confiscated the book that he’d attempted to sneak into the huge Quidditch pitch. Now he’s left with nothing better to do other than observe the confusing plays, eyes constantly following Luffy’s slim form, secretly cheering whenever the kid scored points – only because it served to piss of Slytherin’s Keeper, his good old nemesis Eustass Kidd. Or so Law told himself anyways, tightly gripping at the unsteady railing whenever some asshole Chaser brutally rammed into Luffy’s exposed sides. Of course, Zoro would do his best to take care of the dirty-playing scum, but there was only so much that the other could manage when he had other teammates to protect, his swings powerful and deadly-accurate. Whenever the Bludger would miss some Slytherin’s head, Law would curse internally, hoping to see some blood. Perhaps that would make this utter waste of time a little more entertaining.

He watches Eustass fume when a blue-haired Chaser scores yet another ten points for Gryffindor, barely avoiding the Bludger sent her way. Nami covers her mouth in silent horror when the girl is left dangling off her broomstick, strong legs saving her from the long fall, securely hooked around the sturdy wood. The Chaser lifts herself up in the matter of milliseconds, unperturbed by the near-death experience.

Nami positively melts into the seat, fanning herself, “Shit, that was too intense. Bad for the heart.”

Usopp nods, just a little pale at having to witness that, and then exclaims “Nefertari Vivi,” to which Nami replies with a firm “yes”.

“That’s pretty gay of you, Nami,” Usopp concludes, supposedly serious, and snorts when Nami goes on defensive, face bright pink.

“You’re the one who’s been rattling off girls’ names since the very beginning!”

“That’s because I know what I’m saying, so don’t nitpick. I can start listing out guys too, if you want.” Nami does _not_ want, but her best friend is already searching the field, so she gives up on saying something against it. Usopp’s sharp eyes scan over the players’ faces. “Kinda hard to pick those out since Gryffindor team is mostly made up of girls with the exception of Ace, Zoro and Luffy. I don’t really know the ones from Slytherin,” he then sighs, far less invested in their little game. “I dunno, Ace?”

Nami thinks it over and eyezooms on the aforementioned teen’s well-shaped figure making cautious ellipses around the uneven goal posts, observing the others’ strategic plays. “Hmm, how about we let Traffy answer this one.” At the mention of his… nickname – Trafalgar has long since given up on correcting the others – he tenses up, back set ramrod straight. “Ya or pass?”

“Are you seriously asking me this?”

Nami shrugs, smirking. “Nope, ironically. I mean, I already know that everyone in our friend group has had at least one passing thought about Ace – yes, even you, Usopp, don’t you dare to lie – so a fresh opinion would be nice.”

“I don’t see how my opinion on this matter _matters_ ,” Law frowns, hoping that his voice sounds threatening enough for Nami to back off.

By now, she knows him far too well, so needless to say, it doesn’t quite work the way he wants it to. “Oh come on, don’t be such a buzzkill,” she roughly elbows him in the ribs. “Tell Mama Nami all about your secret crushes.”

Usopp looks like he’s mutely trying to warn his best friend to lay off the elbowing lest she wants to lose a limb. Law nearly eyerolls into another dimension. “There’s nothing to say.”

“But you would confess to wanting to smooch Ace?”

“Look, I get it, everyone and their great grandmother would bone Portgas D. Ace,” Law grouches, a little too loudly. Thankfully, no one notices. Their row is considerably empty, situated at the very top of the stands. “But there’s no need to drag me into this fuckery bullshit.”

Usopp looks more than a little intimidated by Traffy’s passionate outburst. Nami just says “cool, so you admit that he’s at least worthy of a ride,” and then follows it up with “what about Kidd? I saw you talking in the hallway yesterday. Have any thoughts on that?” Wiggles her eyebrows.

Law isn’t sure if he should even dignify it with a response. “I can’t believe that you made me listen to this with my own two ears,” he sticks to the safe route, making sure the disgust is clear on his face.

“Hmm, true,” Nami taps a painted fingernail to her lips. The neon green is so bright that it nearly blinds Law – kinda like Zoro’s hair tends to whenever the lighting is unfortunate enough. “Ah!” she exclaims, and waves the finger in the air. Law does not approve of the mischievous glint in the Slytherin girl’s eyes. “What about Luffy? He’s cute, right?”

Law refuses to say anything for the rest of the match. Usopp gives up three minutes later and asks Nami about Slytherin’s Chaser Bonney.

* * *

 

Luffy tracks mud into the hallways, coal-black hair tousled from the harsh wind and face still red from the chill. He patiently waits for Law outside his common room, startling the latter when he exits through the hidden entrance.

“You’re dirty,” he states with a disgusted curl of his nose and steps back before Luffy can get any funny ideas and attempt to touch him with his muddy paws.

As though that statement rings as surprising, the kid inspects his soggy Quidditch uniform and then exclaims an equally surprised and amazed “yep! I guess I am.”

Law awkwardly rubs his damp palms on the sides of his dress pants, unsure what it was that Luffy wanted from him. “Shouldn’t you change before you catch a cold? Or get in trouble,” there’s a distinctive dark brown trail leading to the fiend. It won’t be long before they get attacked by janitors. One of the more evil teachers – Law doesn’t know which one, but his money is on Shanks – has charmed the mops. The objects would automatically seek out the culprits and follow them around, swatting them across the legs for messing up the floors. He’s seen more than enough of his fellow housemates taking the walk of shame to the janitors’ office; the cleaning staff being the only people who could undo the spell. A clever tactic.

Luffy turns his head with a passionate “nuh-uh!” and then takes off his backpack, shaking it under Law’s nose. “Gonna do it after I hit the bathhouse. You’re coming with me, by the way,” he adds, leaving no room for argument and Law quirks his eyebrows at that. Did he agree to something stupid while he wasn’t listening? Again?

What comes out of his mouth isn’t a “why should I?”, rather it’s “A bathhouse? We only have showers though.” Which is true. Law misses the cramped tub back at Dressrosa, misses his _private_ bathroom, but it’s not like he or right about anyone else can enjoy a relaxing bubble bath when there are queues for the shower stalls every goddamn morning. Luckily for Law, he is blessed with a crappy sleep schedule – no thanks to Corazon – so he’s one of the few chosen ones who don’t ever have to hurry up. Law usually bathes alone – he’s always the first one to rise in the entire Ravenclaw house.

Luffy’s cold, dirty hands find Law’s slim palms and he begins dragging the latter in the direction from which he came from. “There is a hidden bathhouse! But no one is allowed to use it unless they’re a Prefect. Sabo became one this year, so he knows the password! He brought me and Ace along a few times while no one was around. I took the others there too and now it’s your turn. Bathtub initiation!” Luffy hoots cheerfully, a skip to his step. “You’re gonna love it, it’s so awesome! Like, there are a bajillion different faucets and a pool and, oh! Did you know that the naked fish lady in the stained glass sings? It’s super cool. I think I kinda offended her when I asked her if she poops coz she refused to sing afterwards, but anyway, you gotta see her! And I really need the shower, so.” Luffy hums and shoots a distracted smile over his shoulder. “Sabo’s gonna kill me if I track mud into the common room again. He already had to write a report on me and Zoro.”

“Hold on,” Law digs his heels into the soiled, mirror-like floor, and tugs Luffy back. “You don’t actually expect me to randomly go along with this flawed plan, especially when there’s a big chance that we might get discovered.” Luffy slowly blinks at him as if not seeing the problem. Law sighs, and feels an upcoming headache. “I don’t have a towel on me.”

“Pshaw!” He gets waved off. Great. “There’re plenty of those in the bathhouse. You can take them all if you want.”

They start moving again, a bit slower. “I don’t have a change of clothes.”

“Your current clothes are alright!”

“No change of underwear, then,” Law points out yet another flaw in Luffy’s stupid plan, a bit pink in the face at having to discuss this.

“No undies is the way to go!”

“Am I even allowed to refuse?”

“Nope, because I’ve already decided on it! You’re coming with me, Traffy!” Luffy giggles and picks up the pace. “Don’t worry, no one’s gonna find out that we snuck in.”

“Say that any louder and they might,” Law murmurs under his breath and reluctantly lets the younger one drag him away.

* * *

 

The warm, bubbly water feels like heaven against his skin.

Law kicks back on the submerged stool made of marble, positioned at the more shallow part of the small square-shaped pool, half of its contents made up of bubbles. Law sneezes when some flower-scented foam gets into his nostrils, but refuses to sit up straight, half of his face submerged. The sirens depicted in the stained glass don’t sing – they pointedly glare at Luffy, who, thankfully, has enough common sense to remove his dirty layers at the entrance and thus doesn’t dirty up the ivory floors, - but they clearly want to show off their carefully-crafted beauty, putting water lilies in their moss-hued hair, pale blue fingers occasionally combing through the long strands.

Luffy is dicking around with the faucets and Law doesn’t mind it one bit, mesmerized by the colorful bubbles filling the room. Unlike the dish soap ones used by muggles, these linger on, lazily swimming in the air for at least five minutes before popping.

After there’s no more room left to fill in their giant bathtub, Luffy falls into the water, face-first.

“This is still so frickin’ awesome no matter how many times I come here,” Luffy says and then proceeds to make himself a foamstache. “You like it?”

Law lets out a noncommittal grunt, suddenly feeling sleepy. He can’t risk a nap here – it’s more than likely to end in a disaster.

“Traffy, look!” Luffy attempts to catch his attention after a while and then turns around to reveal a perfectly crafted moustache. “I’m Old Man Newgate.”

He then does a perfect impression of the headmaster and Law has to hide his laughter with a coughing fit. “That’s pretty accurate,” he agrees and uses the water surface as a mirror when he crafts himself an intricate hairdo. “You won’t guess who I am.”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Luffy cackles, “Ace would take offense to it, though. It’s Izou, isn’t it?” he asks, surprisingly on-point.

“Damn,” Law says in return. He did a pretty good job at impersonating their Herbology professor, apparently. He then brushes off the excess foam off his strands, leaving two round blotches on his head for no good reason – they look like bear ears.

“Mouse!” Luffy guesses, and sticks out his lips when Law shakes his head no. “Perokypus!”

“What’s that?” Law questions with an amused smile curving his lips.

“Ah, I keep forgetting that you don’t know these things,” Luffy bonks himself on the head. “They’re porcupine-like creatures that live in Dadan’s backyard. They’re big and greedy. Kinda ugly too. Ace and I would have to chase them out. There were a lot of magical creatures living in the forest behind the house. Not sure why they liked it there so much? Sabo and Ace swear that they saw a unicorn once.”

“Pretty sure unicorns live in another continent, Luffy,” Law says with a know-it-all smirk. “Except for the ones in the Forbidden forest.”

“But they said that they saw one!”

“Maybe it was a white horse and they mistook it for a unicorn.”

“Silly, Traffy! Unicorns have horns!” Luffy makes a foam horn on top of his head for emphasis. It collapses immediately. “If they said that they saw one, then I believe them. Maybe it wandered far, far away from home?”

Law submerges.

* * *

 

“I wonder what the bubbles look like from underwater,” Luffy says after a while, the water already cooling – and indication that they should leave soon. “I’m gonna check it out,”

Law has nothing to add to that – Luffy is free to do what he wants, after all. He watches the other duck his head and disappear in the dispersing foam. For the sake of modesty, Law brings his knees to his chest and wraps his arms around them, closing his eyes.

The first ten seconds are spent in utter silence except for the occasional droplets coming out of the golden faucets. The following dozens make Law’s eyebrow twitch. How come Luffy hasn’t surfaced yet? Perhaps he can hold his breath underwater for a long time? With those lungs? He wouldn’t be surprised.

When he hears a peculiar gurgling sound and cracks one eye open to inspect the source of noise, Law sputters and instantly stands up, rushing to the aid of the clearly drowning kid. He drags Luffy up by the shoulders and firmly steadies him when the kid coughs, greedily sucking in air.

“What the hell was that about!?” Law panics, checking his face. It seems that the other is alright – just a little down on oxygen. “Are you out of your mind!?”

Luffy cracks a shaky smile, coughing a little. “Got a little lightheaded.”

Law’s shoulders sag in relief – he doesn’t want to consider the possibility of having to deal with the naked, dead body of Monkey D. Luffy, in the Prefects’ private bathhouse, no less. “Is there a single day when you don’t accidentally nearly get yourself killed?”

Luffy hums, resting his head on Law’s shoulder – by now a familiar gesture. “There are some.”

“Few and far in between, I see.”

“Not gonna argue. Forgot that I can’t swim very well also,” he says sheepishly and then adds a timid “um, whoops?”

Law nearly pops a blood vessel – he now understands how Portgas must feel on daily basis. “Whoops? Fucking “whoops”? Seriously? You drag me to a pool of all the places and then tell me that you basically can’t swim!? What the fuck, Luffy!?”

“I didn’t think I’d get weak!” the aforementioned boy huffs, upset at being justly scolded. “I just wanted to – “

“Agh, whatever, we’re getting out,” Law interrupts the surfacing rant, and without waiting up, he walks towards the marble stairs leading to the towel stacks. “This was dumb. I shouldn’t have come here in the first place – it’s a goddamn miracle that we didn’t get busted, you know.”

He’s about to hoist himself up the rest of the way when he feels a bold touch on his spine, right between the shoulder blades.

“What are these?” Luffy inquires, strangely breathless. Law fights back a shiver, frozen in place. Not daring to breathe. “These spots are all over your body, but they’re the brightest in this area.” With the tip of his finger, the kid traces a circle around Law’s upper back.

“You shouldn’t ask others about their scars,” Law warns darkly, and swipes Luffy’s wet palm away, getting out. He steals two pristine towels, one securely wrapped around the hips while he uses the other to towel at his hair, making it stand up even more than usual.

Luffy seems thoroughly unconvinced, eyes roaming Law’s gangly form as though he’s taking note of every white spot that he sees. The ones on his face have nearly faded due to the intense treatment and exposure to the sun. If Law looked carefully, though, he could still see their outlines – the disgusting lack of pigmentation never failing to remind him of Flevance. “They’re just ugly spots. I was born with them,” he says just to make Luffy cease the ogling.

“You just said that they’re scars.”

Curse his memory. Why couldn’t the kid be this observant on everything? “You can make up a story for them if you want. I don’t really care.”

“It’s alright, I guess,” Luffy nods sagely, padding to the stairs as well. Staying in the pool alone just wasn’t interesting. “Sabo doesn’t tell anyone about his scars either. Says that they make him look ugly and scary though we think that they’re pretty cool. As though he’s been fighting a dragon or something! That’s what the others think anyway. They also say that his grandmother is a Veela too, you know, like Hancock’s family! Sabo isn’t, though. Not that he ever denies it.”

“I’m not sure what you’re trying to say here,” Law confesses, struggling to slip into his pants. He feels far too exposed, and not just literally.

“I don’t know,” Luffy answers with a light shrug. “I guess I’m saying that you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to and that your spots aren’t as ugly as you think.”

“They add nothing to my appearance either,” Law mumbles, suddenly embarrassed. He’s never had anyone call his spots “not ugly” before – if anything, people like Eustass took pleasure in bringing them up whenever they ran out of witty, clever things to say.

“I think they’re neat!”

“And I think that you should stop talking,” Law counters, red-cheeked, and that’s the end of that.

* * *

 

When Law turns fourteen, the prospects for his future healer career skyrocket to impossible heights.

Ever since Law found out about the hidden world of magic, he’s been ceaselessly dicking around with new spells, working hard at casting the more complicated ones with minimum effort required and then bending them to his will. Corazon teaches him all about the various barrier spells and Law practices them in earnest, looking for realistic ways to combine them with levitation spells and hexes meant to inflict bodily damage – mostly the ones meant to slice into men.

His teachers call him a prodigy and they aren’t too surprised when Law demonstrates his infinite potential after CFMA class when he catches a frightened frog and cleanly removes its heart with a single spell without damaging the beating organ or the coldblooded animal in the process.

He even gets contacted by the Daily Prophet’s journalists, but he refuses all requests for interviews and asks them not to write his name into any articles about his work in progress. In reality, he just doesn’t want Doflamingo to find out about his personal project finally bearing fruit. About this potential war weapon in the making.

The teachers understand his supposedly serious “reason” and agree to stay silent without causing any sort of hype within the school. Just to make sure that they’ll keep the promise, Law warbles some faux woes about not wanting to “stand out from the rest of his fellow peers”, succeeding in his task of manipulating the hearts of the more excited and gullible teachers.

Corazon nearly sheds a tear when he hears about Law’s success, thoroughly impressed when Law demonstrates it on a spider that they’ve caught.

* * *

 

By now, Law doesn’t really react to Luffy’s excited puppy-like presence, growing accustomed to the boy’s touchy-feely ways. He simply stiffens up and firmly plants his feet into the ground whenever he hears the familiar “Traaaaaaaaaaaffy!” echoing in the spacious halls and braces himself for the inevitable impact. Luffy has a tendency to ram himself into people he likes the most, choosing to tackle them if he’s missed them really badly, and he likes his Traffy enough to knock the breath out of his lungs every single time he spots the aforementioned teen in the crowd, his height making him tower over the rest. Law’s growth spurt has left him gangly and even more awkward than usual, adding an extra twelve centimeters to his lean figure in the span of a mere three months.

Luffy comes at him from behind, nearly making Law drop his stack of books. “Hello,” he greets the hyperactive teen and straightens up. People stare their way but don’t comment on it, already somewhat accustomed to seeing their school’s ex-terror being barreled into by the ever-famous Monkey D. Luffy. “You need something? We saw each other yesterday, I’m not sure why you’re so – “ Law cuts himself off when he hears Luffy cough into his back, face smothered by the material.

“Don’t tell me you caught a cold,” Law groans when he hears Luffy’s muffled “mghnhnmh”, “You did, didn’t you.”

He puts distance between them when he realizes that Luffy feels like shit and has most likely wiped his snot on the back of Law's uniform. The boy’s face is red from fever and his eyes are glossed-over, eyelids barely opened. When Luffy speaks, it sounds unnaturally weak and winded. “Had a snow fight with,” he sneezes. Law makes a face. “With Sabo, Ace and Zoro. It was really fun,” he sneezes again, this time hard enough to nearly double over.

Law throws a pack of tissues straight into the center of the sick boy’s face. “It’s what you get for not drying off on time. I’d call you an idiot but idiots don’t catch colds.”

“So I’m not an idiot then?” Luffy wheezes a laugh, nose too stuffy for it to sound like one.

“No, you’re not,” Law smirks at Luffy’s exaggeratedly hopeful expression. “You are a fool. It’s like an advanced idiot. A _super_ idiot.”

“That’s mean, Traffy!”

Law flicks Luffy’s positively burning forehead in reply and then frowns, feeling around the sweaty skin. “Jesus fuck, how do you still have the energy to walk around?”

“M’strong,” Luffy nuzzles against the pleasantly cool palm, finally letting his heavy eyelids slip shut. His sigh sounds a little too shaky. “Not gonna let some cold bring me down.”

“You’re gonna get everyone infected,” Law states and manhandles Luffy’s face in order to inspect it up-close. He’s lucky if it’s just a mere cold. “Go see a healer. You shouldn’t be up and about right now.”

“Nuh-uh,” Luffy sticks out his tongue at him. “I want you to use that new spell you came up with to check me out. Don’t you need to apply it to people before becoming a Healer first?”

“Who told you about that?” Law cautiously looks around, taking note of the empty hallway. No one is going to overhear them. He shakes Luffy by the collar, stressed. Is someone leaking information on him?

“Ouch! Robin mentioned it once or twice,” Luffy pulls away and has enough decency to look away when he coughs into his fist. At least it’s a dry cough, Trafalgar thinks to himself. It means that Luffy’s sickness hasn’t developed yet, the coughing fits most likely caused by the scratchy, sore throat.

“Did you tell anyone else!?”

The kid feigns zipping his mouth shut. “Nope! It’s your secret to tell. Now are you gonna do it or not?”

It’s a scary thought to muse over. Law’s yet to rearrange someone else – he did succeed in slicing off his fingers a few times though. It was painless and it worked flawlessly, leaving no marks behind. Luffy channels in his special occasion-worthy stare, pinning Law in place. Pushing him under spotlight as always and showing no intentions of relenting anytime soon. Plus the kid’s right, Law really does need practice. “Alright,” he agrees, still a little iffy about this entire ordeal. “But if something goes wrong, it’s your own fault. I’m not taking responsibility for it.”

Luffy pats his shoulder, gaze intense, serious. “Traffy, I’d trust you with my life. You saved my butt twice already, why would I even think of hesitating? Besides,” he places his hands on his hips and grins from ear to ear. “You’re good at spells. There’s no way that you’re going to mess it up.”

* * *

 

Law doesn’t mess it up.

Luffy sits down on a table inside an empty classroom, legs kicking back and forth and waits patiently for Law to finish his ritual – some minor spells for a warm up, robe discarded and the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up. The thought of something going wrong makes him break out in cold sweat but Luffy whispers reassurances whenever his friend strains too much, telling Law to believe in himself more. He has already done this before and he isn’t about to fuck it up now.

“You have to stay completely still,” Law says quietly, taking in a steadying breath. It comes out a little too shaky, betraying his anxiety. Technically, there’s no reason for Luffy to do as he’s told – he’s been ripping out organs of more than fussy animals – but it’s better to be safe than sorry. “If you feel even the slightest bit of discomfort, you tell me and I will stop immediately. Don’t keep quiet for my sake or whatever.”

“Okay,” Luffy agrees, visibly excited to try this out.

“And whatever you do, don’t break my concentration. Otherwise I might drop some vital part and then –“ he doesn’t want to finish the sentence.

Luffy nods, eager. “I promise!”

“Okay then,” Law inspects his well-used wand, its black surface spotless. “…are you sure you trust me enough to do this? I’m giving you a chance to change your mind here.”

The kid seems a little offended at being questioned like this. “Traffy. With my life.”

“Okay, okay. Just wanted to make sure you’re not gonna regret this. On the count of three,” Law says and straightens up his back, chewing on his bottom lip. Luffy nods at him, an encouragement as good as any, bony fingers curled around the edge of the table in anticipation. He leans forward, breath batted, when Law moves his wand to loosely rest between his thumb and index finger.

“ _Locus_ ,” he says, putting all of his concentration into channeling his magic and a transparent sphere-shaped barrier emerges from around him and Luffy, creating Law’s personal “operating” room. Luffy whispers an amazed “wow” while Law wipes at his forehead with the back of his free hand.

He walks up to Luffy, who blinks, uncertain as to what’s going on. The barrier is web-thin, barely rippling and seemingly nonexistent. Luffy checks himself, confused. “Nothing happened.”

“Nothing’s supposed to happen,” Law answers and then adds, “yet. How are you feeling?”

“Uh…? The same way I did before? Bad?” Luffy emphasizes his words with deliberate coughs making Law roll his eyes. “You don’t have to withhold on me, Traffy!”

“I wasn’t going to,” Law simply says, points his wand at Luffy’s upper body and then shoves it with his free hand.

Luffy collapses in parts.

It takes a moment for the reality (or perhaps the surrealism?) to fully set in and Luffy gasps in utter amazement, exclaiming a surprised “Holy shit, I’m a talking head!”

Law actually laughs at that, placing the boy’s “talking head” on the table further away. “Indeed you are. Everything alright?”

“Yeah!” he beams and curiously observes Law take his detached neck. “How are you doing this?”

“It’d take a while to explain and another ten years for you to fully understand,” the future Healer murmurs distractedly, observing Luffy’s neck. It’s slim and apparently ticklish – Luffy keeps giggling when he touches a tender spot. “You might want to close your eyes for this, I’m about to split this part in two,” he waves the body part in front of the boy’s detached head.

“No way, I wanna see,” Luffy insists, making Law raise an eyebrow. Personally he’d be disgusted by the mere idea of seeing his insides. “People don’t get chances like this very often. Split it open, doc!”

“If you insist,” he says in return, ignoring the overly-familiar term, and does as he’s told.

He snorts at Luffy’s amused “ew, that’s so gross!” and checks the tonsils, humming to himself. Yep, seems like a basic common cold. The rash has yet to reach the bottom of the kid’s throat, proving Law’s initial suspicions about the coughing fits being caused by the discomfort in the throat. Just to make sure, he places a palm on Luffy’s detached torso, casting another minor spell to hear him better.

Nothing’s wrong with that part.

He begins putting the kid back together, aligning the parts perfectly. “I think a single potion and two full days of bedrest should fix this,” Law diagnoses and sticks Luffy’s neck back together. “It would’ve been easier to heal if you checked into the healing ward last night instead of waiting around for this long.”

“Ehh, two days? That’s gonna drive me insane,” Luffy pouts when Law carefully cradles his head in his hands, glaring.

He’s about to scold Luffy for being dumb enough to run around in the snow with rolled up pants and no socks to speak of when the door opens and Usopp barges in, gaze unfocused as he asks “Luffy, are you – “

He then spots Law holding his dear friend’s _head_ , blanching. “…here,” Usopp squeaks and they watch the newcomer straight up pass out in the doorway, noisily crashing onto the floor.

“Tche, that’s weak,” Luffy states after a long moment and then winces in discomfort. “Ow!”

Law turns to face him again, not really caring for the conked out body laying no more than a few meters away. “Is something wrong?” he insists, observing the “Room”. The barrier holds despite the distractions and the wavering concentration. It makes Law proud – he’s gotten stronger.

Luffy’s head smiles. Law realizes that he’s never been this close to the kid before. Their noses are nearly brushing – he didn’t notice it while observing the clean cut for abrasions or possible hints of blood. “Yep! You just squeezed a bit too hard.”

“Oh,” Law hums. He’s about to return the head to the peaceful body but there’s another presence in the doorway, this one belonging to Chopper.

The kid gapes, looking at the duo – well, a teen and a talking head. Law feels as though he’s stuck in some bad sitcom when Luffy casually greets his small friend with a cheerful “hey!” followed by a “look at this cool spell that Traffy showed me”.

Chopper doesn’t notice Usopp’s body until he nearly stumbles over it in his haste to get to the pair. However, he doesn’t cross the translucent rippling barrier, eyes impossibly wide. “This is…” Law waits for some disgusted reaction but it never comes. “This is so impressive!? Oh my god, did you detach his head without harming the body?” Chopper giddily fans himself, flushed. He’s an aspiring Healer-to-be just like Trafalgar. Sometimes they pour over medical books together, discussing the more interesting articles. Law enjoys Chopper’s company – the kid is kind, wise and he doesn’t stand out or attempt to purposefully get on Law’s nerves. “Oh my gosh, this is revolutionary, Law! It could go down in medical history – no, it will! It definitely will! How come you never told me before?” he ducks his head to look at Luffy’s face, smiling. “May I enter the barrier?”

“Knock yourself out,” Law says, and moves aside to make some space.

“Which spells did you take as basis?” Chopper inquires, checking Luffy’s body, poking around the wrist to check the pulse.

“Variations of _Protego_ , mostly,” Law answers with a shrug.

“And the separation?”

“Slashing curses.”

Chopper looks up, gaze serious. “Those are illegal, you know?”

Ha, morality compasses. Hilarious. “For the sake of greater good.”

Law then sets Luffy’s head aside, and indulges himself in a lengthy, “nerdy and sciency” (or so the _talking head_ calls it) conversation. Luffy also readily agrees to be further divided in order to be inspected by the healing-obsessed teens, Chopper “ahh”ing and “ohh”ing all the while.

“You should be called Doctor Heart stealer,” Luffy _shishishis_ in his usual child-like manner when Law pushes his heart out of his chest, encased in a transparent cube. Its heartbeat stutters in Law’s open palm upon contact. Chopper nearly starts drooling.

“We’re healers, not muggle doctors,” Law points out and inspects the organ himself, interested.

“Dadan would call them doctors either way so it doesn’t matter. They’re docs to me!” Luffy says and then goes strangely quiet when Law runs a careful fingertip over the cube’s surface. There it was again – that bizarre jump. “This feels strange,” Luffy hums, lost in thought.

“Bad kind of strange?” Chopper questions, too focused on his analysis to face the kid.

 Law shoots Luffy a cautious look just in case and notices… the stare.

Belatedly, he realizes that he’s holding Monkey D. Luffy’s _alive, beating_ heart in his palms.

Oh.

“Um,” Luffy hums, seemingly embarrassed about something. Law squares his shoulders, face flushing. He probably should’ve asked for consent first. The organ flutters against his skin, successfully raising Law’s hackles. “It’s just funny,” Luffy trails off, uncertain, and they don’t get to discuss this further because Law returns the heart to its rightful place.

He thinks about Luffy’s peculiar heartbeat for the rest of the week.

* * *

 

Despite getting his mood stomped into dirt by the Donquixote family during their “friendly Christmas dinner” at Mariejois, Law still has it in him to search for distractions. The first good opportunity presents itself on February after Luffy and Ace fight yet again, the latter insisting for Luffy to not miss up on the chance to travel to Hogsmeade.

“It’s a part of being a student here. A _crucial_ part of Hogwarts experience,” Portgas said in that bitchy way of his. “So don’t hold back just because you feel _sorry_ for me or whatever – go out with your friends, Lu. And when you do, make sure to bring me and Sabo some butterbeer, alright? And don’t even think of arguing with me!” he huffed and then stomped out of the common room, Sabo following in tow.

At least that’s what Luffy tells Law anyways, huddled in what is probably a kilometer-long red scarf, white earmuffs secure around his ears.

He and Law continue to waddle through the white piles of puffy cloud-like snow, the wind sharp and unforgiving enough to make the temperature appear far lower than it actually is.  Luffy complains while Law keeps his eyes on the goal, the first buildings already showing up in the bleak horizon. During winter, Hogsmeade looks like it's made of gingerbread houses sprinkled in piles of sugar powder and the fairy-tale like view makes Luffy’s rant die down midway through. He takes Law by the hand – he’s grateful that they’re both wearing thick gloves because lately that action in particular makes something twist and turn inside Law’s ribcage and his stomach leap. It was weird as though there was some bug trapped inside his body, but Law would brush the unpleasant sensation away before it could escalate.

Luffy’s teeth chitter from the cold gusts of wind and he tells Traffy that they need a warm drink before they can continue their explorations. Today it’s going to be just the two of them – for some reason, the rest of Luffy’s friends refused to come with. Law had a nagging suspicion that something was up – he could see it in the way Chopper averted his eyes when he said that he was busy with schoolwork that day. The lie was pretty much see-through but Law didn’t press the subject any further, nose-deep in a new book. Ever since he put Luffy apart, he’s been holing himself in the library, researching new ways to make his “operations” even smoother despite Luffy insisting that everything was fine and that he didn’t need to readjust anything. Law, however, knew that something was amiss, and since he was a damned perfectionist too anal about his work, he had to find out what that thing was.

He’s so focused on the warmth provided by Luffy’s slimmer palm that he doesn’t notice anything suspicious about their surroundings until it’s far too late and the jingling of the bell hung above the entrance to the Three Broomsticks seals his fate.

“What the –“ Luffy exclaims when they receive a few handfuls of something right into their faces. Law spits out the pink shit that manages to slip into his mouth while Luffy does a full turn around his axis and comes to a conclusion, that yes, “it’s raining hearts!?”

As weird as it sounds, Law notices that his partner is indeed correct and then takes in his spacious surroundings, upper lip curling back in disgust. Everything is decked in pink hues and _lace,_ the singer’s voice coming from the radio placed on the bar top croons something about love being the miracle of life, and Law is forced to glare down the fat cherub flapping towards them to throw around more glitter hearts. The fat creature seems to take offense to that, unceremoniously dumping the sizeable bucket on top of Law’s head.

Luffy has it in him to _laugh_ , but his confusion is undeniable when he scans the premises and notices everyone sitting in pairs, huddled together and sharing drinks. “Why is everything so… pink?”

“I think I have an idea,” Law grits out through clenched teeth with all the bitterness that he can muster and shakes off the hearts clinging to his white hat. “We should leave,” he says, a little louder than intended. Luffy has already started to wander off.

People _stare_  so Law pulls up his white scarf even higher, intent on avoiding meeting anyone’s eyes. “Luffy!” he hisses urgently, trying not to attract any more attention than he already has by showing up here on what clearly was Valentine’s day. With another guy, no less.

How could he be so stupid? How did it even slip his mind to check the calendar?

How come no one pointed anything out?

He goea over his mental “to-do” list and finally ticks down “kill Luffy’s friends”, getting distracted from his boiling anger afterwards because Luffy runs into someone he knows, nearly shouting their name – so much for laying low. “Robin!”

Law nearly pulls his neck muscles at how fast he turns his head and spots his fellow Ravenclaw seated at one of the round tables, smiling at Luffy. She doesn’t seem annoyed or bothered by the other walking in on what was obviously a date, kindly waving at the younger boy.

Law knows the guy who sits right across from her – he too, is one of Luffy’s closer friends. He startles upon seeing the aforementioned boy, flushed face turning an interesting shade of violet when he starts choking on his cola. Robin pats him on the back to relieve him, never losing the smile. Law doesn’t know what to make of it, really.

He approaches the table right as the blue-haired mountain man nervously asks Luffy what in the actual hell they’re doing here today of all days.

“Traffy and I are hanging out because everyone else is busy!” Luffy explains cheerfully, still not fully comprehending their… situation. Law hides his reddened face in his palms when he feels Robin’s amused gaze drifting towards him. He’s not going to live this one down, is he? The older girl had already made some… odd implications about there being something more than mere friendship going on between him and Luffy – something Law certainly didn’t appreciate.  “It’s kinda weird that you guys didn’t tell me that you were going to Hogsmeade today. We could’ve spent time together.”

The boy’s naïve denseness makes Law sigh, Robin cover up a laugh and Franky to nearly choke on his beverage again. It’s Robin who saves the day by making it even worse. “I apologize, Luffy. Franky and I wanted to go on a date,” she says, deadpan.

Luffy hums, “Oh, I see!” and then follows it up with an incredibly stupid and untactful “also, do you guys know why everything looks different today? Not that I’m complaining, but,” he spits out a tiny heart into his palm, flicking it to the ground to join the rest, “this stuff is getting everywhere.”

“Seriously, bro?” Franky snorts, amused. “It’s Valentines. You know, the day of the lovebirds,” he openly stares at Law when he says it. The nerve. “Everyone’s trying to get some sugar here, if you get me,” he winks.

Luffy nods though it’s pretty damn clear that he doesn’t. “’Kay. I hope you get that sugar then, Franky,” he wishes, good-naturedly, making the former turn a deep shade of maroon. Law wonders if Luffy has any idea as to what the word “sugar” implies in this context and whether Franky is going to die from the lack of oxygen in the next twenty seconds. “You do you. Traffy and I are gonna go look for a booth,” Luffy looks around and now Law’s the one nearly choking on his spittle.

“Excuse me? We’re leaving,” he coughs into his palm, eyes watering.

Franky seems to agree, taking notice of the whispering and the drilling stares of other students occupying the bar. “Tra-bro’s right, dude. Are you sure you wanna be here _today_ ,” he emphasizes with a sharp, cutting motion of his giant hands.

Luffy puffs out a short, noisy breath. “Uh, yeah? We came all this way just to spend time together. I’m not gonna let some pink heart day chase me out. What’s the worst that can happen?”

* * *

 

Rumors. Rumors are the worst that can happen.

Trafalgar dreads the thought of returning back to the castle, to stares and amused whispers and to fresh gossip. He knows that upon entering Ravenclaw’s common room, he’s going to feel like an outcast, like he’s back at year one. People would cease talking whenever he’d enter, would look and make him feel as though he’s been shoved under spotlight and god knows that Law hates attention. So he isn’t exactly looking forward to repeating that again.

Luffy’s too busy chatting up one of the barmaids named Makino – the girl just happens to be on her break – to notice Law sulking away, staring off into the distance. Students come and go, all of them shooting these undecipherable looks in the general direction of their booth but Law’s given up on trying to make them stop. He knows he can’t. He also knows that he’s never going to Hogsmeade with Luffy one on one ever again. Fuck his butterbeer quest.

Franky and Robin leave their table once the sun begins setting in the sky, stopping by to bid their farewells. The black-haired girl looks as though she pities him – so much for their supposed “date” – and Franky leans in closer to ask if everything’s alright, curious to know how Law’s been holding up.

“I have pink, sparkly shit in my black coffee,” Law growls darkly, glaring at Luffy. The latter boisterously laughs at something that Ms. Makino said, not paying his companion the slightest bit of attention. “I’m stuck at Three Broomsticks on Valentine’s day. How do you think I feel?”

Franky produces a muffled “yikes” and wishes Law inner strength.

Law considers dumping the cooling beverage into Luffy’s lap.


	4. Chapter 4

Law is enjoying his afternoon nap when some unknown owl pecks him awake.

He chases the light brown bird away with the hat that he’s been using as a sunshade and sits up, stretching. It appears that his power nap has dragged out. The sun is already low, blending in with the pink horizon partially covered by the sunflower field.

Law wonders why Corazon hasn’t called him for dinner yet and yawns, rubbing at his exposed arms. They’re sunburned, great.

The owl doesn’t mind the rough treatment and nests in Law’s lap, hooting quietly. He runs his fingers over the soft feathers, making the creature close its yellow eyes. “What do you have for me?” Law mumbles and unties the folded letter from its leg.

It’s a little surprising that the letter is addressed to him and not Corazon. Law rarely got mail, most of it coming from the school’s staff, so this is strange.

It _is_ addressed to him though, there’s no doubt about it. Law’s name is written right there, in the most horrible chicken scrawl that he’s ever witnessed.

The letter is short and straight to the point:

_Hey, Traffy!_

_Zoro and I have some stuff to do at Dressrosa this weekend. You wanna meet up?_

_-Luffy_

_P.S. Make sure Merry gets enough rest before you send her back with the reply. She’s really old!_

Oh.

“How does he know where I live?” is the better question to ask, but Merry only blinks in response, holding no answers to Law’s bubbling questions. He offers the lazy owl his hand to perch on, trying to ignore the pain caused by its sharp talons.

Corazon is busy putting away groceries – explains why he didn’t check on Law yet – and nearly sets himself on fire when Law makes his presence known, the lit cigarette barely missing the hem of his shirt. He stomps it out and then sets the heavy, seemingly fragile bag down on the counter before it can slip away from his fingers too. “Jesus tap-dancing Christ, don’t scare me like that. At least make some noise when you enter the room,” he huffs out, but not in a scolding way. Resumes unpacking.

“Cora,” Law belatedly announces.

“Don’t do it now!”

“Pft, whatever,” the teen snorts and sets the calm owl on the table. It flaps its wings, distressed – the table’s surface seems to be far too smooth for it. Merry flies around the kitchen in search for a comfortable place to perch on, settling for the fridge. Corazon blinks at the guest, the guest blinks back and then he faces Law.

“Are you taking in strays now. Really.”

“It belongs to someone else,” Law explains and thinks of good ways to approach the subject, coming up with none.

Corazon only hums noncommittally, nearly dropping the eggs when the owl takes interest in the braided tassel of his hat. “Is it for me?”

Law shakes his head no. Fidgets.

Corazon notices his hesitance immediately, closing the beeping fridge rather impatiently. “Spit it out. Is something the matter?” he pins his charge to place with an intense stare, crossing his arms. “Did you get in trouble again?”

“Me? An honor student? Future Prefect of Ravenclaw? In trouble? Cora, please. They would build a statue of me if I let them,” Law laughs it off, nervous beyond belief. He doesn’t even know why. It’s not like he can’t simply ignore Luffy and then blame everything on the owl’s age and inability to find the recipient.

This flips a switch on the overbearing dad mode. Corazon glowers with undeniable authority, strongly emitting the “young man, how dare you” vibe. “You’re not even remotely convincing.”

“Yeah, I guess I’m not,” the teen mumbles and rubs at the back of his neck, resolutely avoiding eye contact. His eyes settle on a huge potted plant placed by the staircase. It seems to be dying – then again neither he nor his guardian were any good at gardening. “I got a letter. It’s from…”

“From?” Corazon inquires though it’s pretty clear that he already suspects as to who it might be. As though he knew that this day would come eventually.

Law sighs in defeat. “Luffy. He’ll be in Dressrosa this weekend – don’t look at me like that, I didn’t give out our exact location, I’m not even sure how he knows that we live in this town – and uh, he wants to hang out I guess,” Law shifts his weight, more and more uncomfortable with every word to leave his mouth. “I seriously don’t know what to tell him. If I even should.”

His guardian seems just as lost, absentmindedly petting the owl that only pecks him in return. Corazon gently flicks its beak and speaks up again, not bothering to look at Law. “Reply to him. He seems to be a good friend of yours – stay in contact.”

Law doesn’t know what he’s been expecting but this certainly wasn’t it. The man smiles when the owl hoots at him and picks at the tassel again. It seems to be asking for food, Law assumes, but Corazon effectively cuts off his train of wandering thoughts, “How about you invite him for dinner? Then you won’t have to go into the city. I know how much you hate that.”

A moment passes. Then another. Law opens his mouth, closes it and gapes, “Wait, you’re serious.”

“Indeed I am.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, Law,” Corazon frowns as though he’s weirded out by this sudden bout of supposedly unexpected questioning. “Why would I lie?”

It takes a moment for latter to process these words. “So wait, you’re telling me that you are actually _willingly_ encouraging me to invite _a member of the D. clan_ for a friendly dinner?”

“Uh-huh,” Corazon dazedly nods and picks Merry off the fridge, cradling it in his arms.

“And you see,” Law spreads out his arms, only a little exasperated. Luffy’s letter crumples up in his hand, “absolutely no flaws in that logic?”

“Nope,” the man shrugs it off, scratching at the top of the sleepy bird’s head. “Because there aren’t any,” at the sound of Law’s indignant strangled noise, he explains further, “this is my house and I will invite whoever I seem fit. Even if it’s a boy from the infamous D. clan,” he finishes, a little bitterly. Years-old anger directed at his older brother and his rotten world-view eats away at his chest, but the blond fights it down, banishing the poisonous feelings into the deepest corners of his mind. “So don’t worry about it.”

“The only thing I’m even remotely worried about is your cooking skills. What are you going to serve us, Mr. Second-In-Command of _Donquixote_ family? Cheap takeout?” Law smirks at Corazon’s exaggerated reaction. The older man gasps an offended “how dare you, my cooking is to die for” and the remaining tension dissipates soon after.

Law invites Luffy and Zoro over in what he hopes to be a cool and casual way and asks Luffy to please, for the love of god, never use cursive writing in his letters ever again.

* * *

 

Zoro and Luffy show up in their front yard on a chilly Sunday afternoon, more than a little late due to them getting distracted by the ever-fascinating world of the muggles. The teens decide to take the metro – attracting more than a few weirded out stares from the passengers; mostly Luffy, who eagerly points out the disembodied voice announcing the names of the stops and asks Zoro if there was a person trapped in the walls, how could they do this without using magic?  - and then walk the rest of the way, using a navigation app. They get lost at least thrice but it has less to do with the confusing street names and the protective magic barrier set around their house and more with Zoro’s complete inability to follow directions.

Zoro amusedly snorts in greeting, beelining towards Law who awkwardly stands around, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans – Corazon had nearly forced him to slip into more appropriate clothes. They had guests for god’s sake! “Holy shit, dude,” Zoro pats at Law’s stubbly chin. “You look like Curly Brow now. Shave that shit off, don’t embarrass yourself any further.”

“Does my beard offend your eyes, Roronoa?” Law swats the limb away and crosses his arms, only a little offended. He’s been… experimenting. Plus shaving was lame anyway. “Also touch me again and you’ll be short on one arm.”

Luffy takes it upon himself to do the mindless patting, scratching under Law’s chin. “Aww, it’s a widdle beardsie,” he laughs and Law nearly has an aneurysm. He slowly slides Luffy’s curious fingers off – the action makes Zoro’s eyebrows rise; just when did Traffy start treating Luffy differently? – and rolls his eyes at the kid, sighing exaggeratedly.

“Good, you found your way around, made fun of my appearance, now are you gonna leave or should I wait for more in-coming comments?” After he says it, Law’s eyes drift over the wizards’ appearance – they’re dressed simply enough to blend in and not attract too much attention (sans Zoro’s algae hair, of course). He wonders if someone picked their clothes out for them and tries not to stare at Luffy’s legging-clad legs poking out from underneath black shorts for longer than it’s absolutely necessary. The kid’s decked out in red hues and has a straw hat hanging off his neck.

Zoro interrupts his complicated thought process and makes Law peel his eyes away from Luffy’s ever-present smile. The latter is observing the house and the neighborhood, murmuring to himself – he’s already noticed the wizard households. “You’re like a damn toddler, what sort of testosterone have you been consuming?” Zoro puts a hand to his mouth. Law doesn’t bother to fill in the details – back when he was still dying from Amber lead poisoning, multiple healers have told him to expect the unexpected. “Did the shit cook sell some potion to you?”

When he retracts the hand, there’s a curly, luscious moustache sprouting from his upper lip. It’s the same shade of green as Zoro’s hair. “Let’s team up and bring him down with our facial hair club.”

Luffy nearly gets a cramp from trying to hold in his laugh and ends up failing, poking at the curly ends of Zoro’s fake moustache. Law’s thoroughly amused despite trying to appear cool and collected. “This isn’t a competition, Zoro.”

“It is now.”

“You look terrible.”

“You’re just jealous of my far superior stache,” Zoro accuses but gets rid of it a moment later, scratching at his face. “Fuck, that feels itchy as hell. How do you even manage it?”

Law shrugs. Luffy asks his best friend to regrow it and then keep the coolstache to which Zoro replies with a big, fat “fuck off”.  The former then wanders off to the potted plants placed by the entrance and states “you’ve got gnarnicles in there” as though Corazon and Law hadn’t spent the bigger part of the summer trying to chase the magical parasites away. He drags Luffy into the house by the hood of his sweatshirt before the kid can attempt to pick them up with his bare hands and get bitten. Zoro dutifully follows.

* * *

 

Turns out they went to Dressrosa to see a pro-Quidditch match – apparently Zoro’s guardian was the manager of the pitch, getting them free tickets in the process. Law tunes out their excited stories and feels a little self-conscious when they reach his room. He’s waiting for criticism but none comes – Luffy simply sprawls out on Law’s bed while Zoro kicks back on the chair, balancing it to stand on two legs.

Law doesn’t manage to get in a word about the chair being really goddamn unsteady before Zoro collapses and Luffy starts snickering, watching his best friend over the ledge of the bed.

“Get better furniture,” Zoro winces and rubs at his elbow. The chair remains undamaged – Corazon has placed some sort of charm on it to make it hold.

“It fits this room,” Luffy pipes up, moving aside when Law sits next to him despite there being more than enough space between them. “It kinda looks like a library.”

It does. Law has styled his room to be as cramped as possible, every surface filled with books and rolls of parchment – all of them vitally necessary to his further spell research. It’s a little dull and not very tidy, decked out in earthly colors, but it’s _his_ and that’s all that matters in the long run. “I assume you don’t like it then?” Law smirks at Luffy’s pouty expression.

“I didn’t say that!” the black-haired kid sticks out his tongue and balances his straw hat on Law’s head. Zoro keeps lying on the floor, fingers laced on his stomach and legs bent, too lazy to actually move. “It’s really Traffy-like. Plus the bed is comfy.”

“Gonna have to check that out,” Roronoa rises, yawning. He seems a little worn down – the Quidditch game has dragged out well into the night. “By Traffy-like he means totally nerdy. Get some light in your hermit cave, Trafalgar.” He pushes aside the yellow-colored blinds and checks the weather. It’s beginning to rain. The sight makes him even more sluggish. “I’ve decided – nap time. You guys can, I dunno, go do something stupid. Don’t mind me,” Zoro then flops down on the bed, making the old mattress squeak in protest. Luffy squeaks too, half-crushed under his best friend’s thighs.

“Zoro!” he whines when the green-haired teen pushes him a little to make more room and right into Law’s stiff arm, making the latter tense up.

Roronoa only lets out a half-assed hum and closes his eyes, curled up on Law’s pillows. “Call me downstairs when dinner’s ready.”

“Nah,” Law says in an asshole manner and then attempts to stand, too beat to yell at the teens for messing up his precious bed. “You snooze, you lose.”

Luffy wraps himself around his thigh, half-dangling off the bed. “Nope,” is all he says. Law raises an eyebrow, amused.

“No?”

“No,” Luffy nods and produces some sort of soft sound that takes a moment for Law to process. He comes to a conclusion that it’s a yawn – albeit a really adorable one. He looks up at Law through heavily-lidded eyes and how has he not seen the exhaustion on Luffy’s face before? “You’re joining the cuddle pile.”

“Cuddle what?” the explanation comes in the form of Luffy’s strong noodle arms pulling him back and into the bed. Zoro only bounces up from the impact, eyes still closed and possibly already conked out while Law struggles against the limb-lock around his waist. “Let go!”

“I don’t think so!” Luffy retorts somewhere by his neck and Law wants to die of embarrassment right then and there. “If I do, you’ll simply run.”

“You came all this way to Dressrosa. To my place. To nap on my bed.”

“We came here for the Quidditch game, Traffy, and yes. Nothing wrong with some naps!” As if to make his point clear, Luffy feigns a yawn. “I’m tired too, so.”

“You’re impossible!” Law fumes, closing his mouth immediately when Luffy blindly feels around his face and presses a finger to his lips a few times.

“Shhh, you’ll wake Zoro.”

“I bet he’s awake and laughing internally at my misery!”

“I can confirm that Zoro is asleep,” Zoro says, back turned to them and voice heavy with fatigue.

“Shut the hell up!” Roronoa lazily flips him off in reply and pushes his hands under his head. Law groans and then attempts to sit up only for Luffy to bring him back down with another petulant whine. This time, the strong kid wraps his thin legs around Law as well to keep him in place.

“Stay still,” he sighs happily and pats at the side of Law’s face.

“Oh my god.”

“Just nap, shhh. I’m gonna start humming all the lullabies I know if you don’t.”

Law pulls his flushed face away from his palms in confusion, still curled up in a semi-fetal position to protect himself from Luffy’s eagerness. Zoro growls in warning. “If he fucking starts to sing, I’m gonna end both of you, Traffic.”

“What’s wrong with my singing!?”

“I’d rather listen to a cat in heat than you – ow!” he glares over his shoulder after Luffy unwraps one leg from around his victim to kick Zoro’s ass.

“Deserved it!” Luffy huffs angrily.

“Haha, nice,” is all that Law has to say, entertained by the ensuing petty fighting but it doesn’t last for long. He heaves a resigned sigh. “You’re not even listening to me, are you?”

“I was until you told me to let you go or something,” Luffy sleepily mumbles into the back of his neck and continues to spoon him, unrelenting.

“You’re the absolute worst, Straw hat,” Law grumbles under his breath, uncomfortably warm. Luffy only headbutts his back in reply, whispering a half-assed “hush”.

* * *

 

Somehow Law ends up crashing along with the rest, lulled by the warmth radiating from his back and Luffy’s even breaths. Somehow he doesn’t mind the spooning as much as he thought he would and then lazily unpeels the snoozing boy away from himself, stretching and padding downstairs to answer Corazon who’s been calling them for dinner for a good minute now.

His guardian says nothing about Law’s appearance – hair mussed, the black strands pressed against his head on one side – and asks Law if everything’s cool. Law makes some vague hand gestures, still too sleepy to fully comprehend his surroundings and drags himself upstairs to wake the other two, using Sanji’s trick to make Luffy get a move on after the kid only rolls over and meshes his face into Zoro’s back.

The dinner is a pleasant affair mostly because Law doesn’t have to do much talking, enjoying the food that was clearly made by the Dolds – he doesn’t know what sort of bribing Corazon did to get this feast, but he isn’t complaining, munching on Viola’s yogurt-fruit salad. Corazon seems entertained by Luffy’s cheerfulness and taken in by the story of the Quidditch game from last night. He offhandedly mentions that he would go to the games with his family back when he and Doflamingo were just kids – a fact that makes Law’s eyebrows rise, something he wasn’t even aware of seeing that Corazon was uncomfortable with disclosing information about his past as _Rocinante_ – and then to avert the topic, he asks Luffy and Zoro about their experiences in the muggle world.

Luffy goes on and on about it, asking his professor for some explanations for this and that – Luffy was a part of Muggle Studies class’; he and Ace were forced into it by Garp who wanted them to learn some respect for their fellow non-magicks – and Law watches the polite exchange with a certain type of fondness, completely missing Zoro’s stare and his faint smirk.

Corazon loves muggles; that much Law’s certain of. He’d take the torture happening at Mariejois really badly and the teen knew that there was a good reason as to why he chose to become a teacher of this subject in particular. He was making amends for his brother’s unjust actions in his own, private way. Not many kids attended the classes, but those who did, respected the eccentric professor dressed in muggle clothes and wearing makeup to cover up his faint scars  - for trying so hard and for never letting them down. Law too has chosen this elective subject over Divination despite the time window fitting less. It gave him a good excuse to spend more time with Cora, but when asked, Law would only say that this class was relevant to his future career choice, which wasn’t that far off the truth.

It’s Zoro who brings up the topic, “Is it true that they’re bringing back the Tri-wi tourney this year?” he asks nonchalantly and that makes Corazon choke, eyes wide. Law slaps him on the back a few times to which the man mutters a word of thanks, sipping on tea to calm his irritated throat.

“Who even told you that?” he asks, a little unsettled. Law stares, eyebrows raised – Corazon uses that tone only when he’s been busted.

Luffy replies around a mouthful of food. “Shanks did! He and Gramps dropped by at Foosha for a visit. Dadan brought out the expensive wine.”

Corazon sighs, rubbing at his worry-creased forehead. “Of course he would. Why am I still surprised,” his eyes wander to the straw hat tied around Luffy’s neck. “Is he leaving again? He left you his hat.”

Luffy thinks about it, swallowing. There are crumbs sticking to the corners of his rosy mouth. “Hmm, nope. At least he didn’t tell me he is! I didn’t really get what he was trying to say since he was reeeeally drunk but I assume that he wants me to enter the tourney and this is a good luck charm of sorts.” He wipes his hands on a napkin before placing the hat back on his head.

“You’re not actually thinking of entering, are you?” Corazon frowns in concern and Law stares, stumped. “It’s a dangerous tournament. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone under year six.”

Law sets down his fork, “Wait, didn’t the Triwizard have age restrictions? Only those aged seventeen can enter.”

Corazon turns to Law then, a little wary. As if Law’s about to declare that he’s entering now that he’s of age. “You’re confusing this with the infamous Triwizard Tournament. You too, Luffy,“ at the latter’s wide-eyed look of surprise, he explains further. “Before the revolution at the Ministry that resulted in Gol D. Roger’s assassination, the Triwizard Tournament was still alive and kicking. Afterwards it died down and eventually was banned due to it claiming young wizards’ lives.” Corazon twines his fingers together and places his chin on top of them, staring out through the window. Law can hear Rebecca’s voice outside, asking Viola something about the laundry.

“The participating schools didn’t take well to it – after all, this event brought them together and made their connections stronger. I’m uncertain of the details, but I’ve heard at the staff room that the headmaster had left on a diplomatic journey to Durmstrang and that they’ve sent an appellation to the Ministry, demanding the tournament to be renowned. They had an audience with the higher-ups who heard them out and agreed to resume the tournament only if they made some serious readjustments to the rules. Some of the more dangerous beasts have been removed from the program among many other things. I can’t tell you any more details because that’d give everything away. It’s a secret that everyone’s looking forward to disclosing,” he smiles, absentminded. “Hopefully, we’ll avoid needless bloodshed this time around and since the severity of the tasks has decreased, they lowered the bar – every 4th year and onwards student is eligible to participate.” Luffy and Zoro lean in forward, sharing mutual looks of excitement that Law simply does not comprehend. “Of course, now that the rules have changed and all, they’ve demanded a change in the name as well. Now it’s called the Triwizard Cup.”

“So just like the old tournament but not really,” Law finishes the speech and resumes eating.

“Right you are,” Corazon says, nodding. “My point still stands though – it’s for the best to avoid this.”

“But it’s once every five years!” Luffy whines and then huffs. “I know that I will enter for sure and then become Hogwarts’ champion.”

“Not if I do so first,” Zoro teases.

“May the best man win,” Luffy _shishishis_. Law’s amazed, if it were anyone else, he’d be challenging them to throw down right then and there but with Zoro it’s almost acceptable. He doesn’t mind it. Luffy turns those big, gleeful eyes Law’s way who feels as though he’s choking on a slice of mango. “Traffy will enter too, won’t he?”

To distract himself, he pokes at a grape. “I’ve no plans to put myself in unnecessary danger. I’d rather focus on my studies and N.E.W.T.s”

“But Traffy! It’s about bringing your school and house glory! And the _challenge_. You get to be a champion.”

“Luffy, let the nerd rest,” Zoro interrupts. His grin is unnaturally big. “He’d much rather cheer you on from the stands.”

“But he’s too strong to pass up on this! He knows all these cool spells and would probably kick everyone’s ass. I mean, I’m gonna kick them even better but Traffy is definitely on the right path there,” Luffy semi-compliments in that earnest way of his and Law hides a blush into his palm, supposedly worn out by the ensuing conversation.

“If, by any chance, you emerge as a champion, Luffy,” Corazon says matter-of-factly, “Law here will help you to prepare for your tasks.”

The aforementioned teen cannot believe his guardian’s nerve or the implications. He stares the fair-haired man down, confused and at a loss of what to say, not to mention how to react.

Luffy straight up lights up like he’s a decorated tree and Christmas came fucking early. “You will?”

He doesn’t get to say “no” because Corazon answers in his stead, clearly scheming something. “He will,” he reassures while Law gasps in indignation, his face roughly the same color as Luffy’s unzipped hoodie. Zoro snickers at his expense and watches this… situation unfold before his eyes, offering nothing to the conversation, visibly entertained.

“Is anyone going to ask me how I feel about this?” Law grits out through his grapes and Corazon sends him a supposedly scolding look.

“Don’t talk back with your mouth full,” then, to Luffy, “if he doesn’t, feel free to seek me out. I’ll make sure he makes the right decision.”

“Will do, Professor Donquixote!” the kid nods energetically, one of his legs bouncing underneath the table. Corazon tells him to just call him Rocinante and brings out Viola’s cherry pie which Law refuses to touch, mindful of his allergies. Luffy goes starry-eyed when Corazon tells him that it’s a belated gift meant for his birthday that happened almost a month ago. Honestly, it’s just an excuse to eat more sweets.

“Wait, your birthday was during the school year?” Law frowns when he and Zoro start collecting the dirty dishes, the latter offering to clean them. Luffy is too busy letting out blessed hums while stuffing his face full of Viola’s pie, his cheeks reminding Law of an eager, starved hamster, so Zoro takes it upon himself to answer in Luffy’s stead, supposedly translating the series of mumbles produced at different octaves.

“You think there was any other reason why he wore that muggle party hat throughout most of the day until some Prefects threatened to report the dress code violation?”

“I – “

The green-haired teen voices out his private thoughts, “I get it, it’s _Luffy_ , it’s kinda expected of him to pull weird shit like this.”

“I didn’t know,” Law mumbles and runs the water, making some space between him and Zoro. Corazon had excused himself a few minutes ago. “You should’ve, I dunno, told me, maybe? So I could’ve…” he trails off, uncertain how to finish that sentence. Would he have acknowledged Luffy’s big day? Said anything? Given him a gift or sorts? He doesn’t know. But he has a feeling that he wouldn’t have ignored it. Kinda feels bad that he did either way - unknowingly, of course.

Luffy swallows and shrugs, already halfway through the pie. “Slipped my mind. I forgot all about it as well so I was pretty surprised when Ace and Sabo woke me up with their presents.” Like, literally. His brothers dumped them on his face, startling him into awareness with an airhorn and then some noisy, glitter firework bombs. His fellow roommates didn’t talk to him for the rest of the day, pissed over the rude wake-up call.

At least he got a pretty cool party hat out of it.

Law rolls up the black sleeves of his hoodie and looks at the sink when he mumbles embarrassedly “in that case, happy birthday. I, uh, don’t really have anything to give as a present so,” he sighs. Luffy says nothing, only continues smiling and blinking innocently. “I guess I’ll give you my tutorage this year but only and I mean only if you make it out of this as a Hogwarts representative. Otherwise you can forget it,” he huffs and Zoro rolls his eyes but seems proud of Law’s progress nonetheless. At least he’s putting effort into trying to appear more sociable around Luffy – a stark contrast to their first years. The passage of time can sure change a man, huh.

Luffy’s smile widens, eyes crinkling in the corners when he thanks Law in earnest. “Coming here was a pretty great gift after all!”

Law says nothing in reply, neck and ears bright red when he hands a plate for Roronoa to dry off, soapy grip unsteady and a little shaky.

Zoro butts in almost too casually. “Anyway, you wanna tell us who actually made this feast? I hear that Rocinante could poison the entire student body if he wanted to.”

Law is grateful for the distraction and thanks god that Luffy suddenly feels the overwhelming urge to befriend the girl who baked the awesome not-birthday pie, opening the small kitchen window and then chatting the surprised Viola up.

* * *

 

Zoro and Luffy use the Dold’s fireplace to leave Dressrosa after Viola insists that it’s way faster and safer than traveling back via muggle transportation. Zoro is the first one to use the Floo Network, telling Luffy that he’ll see him around and when Rebecca offers him the bowl filled with powder, he hesitates, turning to Law.

“Thanks for having us, Traffy!” Luffy exclaims, less spirited than usual. Tired, probably. Rebecca’s eyes widen and flicker to Law to observe his reaction at the affectionate nickname and continue growing in size when the other simply nods, a little awkward.

“Sure.”

“I mean it,” Luffy says firmly, serious. His gaze is oddly intense – to the point Law feels like pulling the hood low over his head and eyes in order to escape it. It unsettles him when the hyperactive kid gets like this – he feels like a helpless frog placed on a dissection table. “I had a blast. Didn’t actually expect you to reply to my message,” he breaks the unnatural off-character moment with a sheepish grin. “I’m happy that you did though!”

“You probably would’ve sent me ten more owls if I hadn’t.”

Luffy shakes his head no, “Despite what you may think, I actually don’t want to force you to do anything you _truly_ don’t feel like doing.”

Law lets out a grunt in reply. Shoves his hands deeper into his pockets.

Rebecca lets out a soft gasp when Luffy quickly steps out from the cramped fireplace and into Law’s personal bubble, wrapping him up in his arms without a moment’s hesitation.

Law, as if possessed by some evil spirits, returns the intimate gesture. Shyly, reluctantly, but he does it nonetheless.

Absentmindedly, he realizes that it’s the first time he’s ever hugged Luffy back willingly. As if spurred on by the other’s tentative touch, the short kid presses his face into Law’s shoulder, lightly nuzzling against the soft material.

“I’ll see you at the train, Traffy,” he promises, a little breathless, and Law’s already-tight chest constricts even more, his palms getting covered in a layer of sweat. “I should go now.”

“Don’t make your brother wait,” Law says quietly, awkwardly pats Luffy’s back – an indication that he wants the other to let go – and they reluctantly part, Luffy sending him one last lingering look before he disappears in a burst of emerald flames.

Rebecca makes her momentarily-forgotten presence known, coughing at the ash and the heat. “Um, forgive me if I’m wrong, Law, but… is Luffy your boyfriend?”

Law shoots her an incredulous stare that is seemingly enough of a reply. She ducks her head in shame but doesn’t apologize for her bold assumptions. Law really can’t blame her because when he thinks about it more carefully, replays their exchange in his head over and over again, he admits that Rebecca has every right to question him like this.

* * *

 

“Scar-face,” Kidd acknowledges his existence and plops down right next to him before Trafalgar can so much as sneak in a word, glaring at his rival-turned-sort-of-friend.

He snaps his book shut, rubbing at his tired eyes – reading in the faint blue light produced by the Goblet’s flames was more than a little exhausting. Kidd spreads out, elbows digging into his thighs and he seemingly takes up half of the old bench. “Look who’s talking,” Law grouches and smirks at the red-haired bastard’s reaction.

They never failed to return to square one. Perhaps that’s why they never got closer, choosing to pass each other by rather than stay around for longer than it was absolutely necessary.

“I heard that the trolls called, they want your nasty goblin attitude back,” Kidd supposedly insults so Law jibes at him for not knowing the difference between a goblin and a troll – something a kindergartner could point out.

“It was an expression, chill and roll back on the biology talk, Spots,” Kidd yawns into his fist – it’s already pretty damn late. Another kid throws in their name into the cup, earning a heated round of applause from their group of friends. The goblet goes up in golden flames, spewing out embers and then returns to its normal, blue-colored state. “You’re cursing these brats with silent bad luck charms or are you actually waiting for everyone to clear out so that you can throw your name in there too? If it’s the latter, you can chill – no one thinks of you as important enough to fawn over.”

“Not all of us are obsessed with glory and going down in history books, you self-absorbed dick,” Kidd says nothing so Law continues, tugging at his golden earrings just for the sake of having something to do. _Where is he?_ “Some of us enjoy a more comfortable, less risky lifestyle.”

“You sound like my fucking grandma and she’s dead,” Kidd snorts.

“She’d be rolling in her grave if your big fat ass got selected to represent us,” Law waves a hand for emphasis, gesturing at the people occupying the benches, most of them scattered in small groups of three.

“You’d be rolling in a shallow grave too if you actually stopped being such a prickly, easily-frightened bitch. When will you grow some balls, man?” Kidd elbows Law in the ribs, earning a nasty glower. “We’d get to compete,” he adds.

“When you grow some eyebrows.”

“So never?”

Law flips him off and straightens up when he hears Luffy’s voice echoing in the hall, followed by other familiar voices.

Kidd actually grins. Law feels himself turning sheet-pale and beet-red simultaneously. “Oh, I see how it is,” the bastard flashes him a wolfish grin, “You’re waiting for your Gryffindor boyfriend.”

“Not my boyfriend,” Law denies rather lamely, pushing at his companion’s meaty bicep. Curse Quidditch and the wonders it does to a player’s body. “Shut the fuck up and let me watch this.”

Luffy is the first one to cross the rune-marked barrier and then fling the folded piece of paper into the flames. Law holds his breath despite knowing that the barrier will not react – Luffy is qualified to enter this tournament. The same thing as always happens, the flames expanding and then hissing out, shrinking into something nonexistent and the kid hops out of the ring and straight into Ace and Sabo who ruffle his hair. The rest of Luffy’s friends line up to throw in their names, sans Chopper, who, just like Law, was too busy thinking of his future career to willingly resign himself to death. Sabo’s friend, a short ginger girl, is the last one to put in her name and rejoin the rest, chatting back and forth.

Law watches the exchange with a hint of a smirk on his face, trying his damn hardest not to give Kidd more reasons to rib him. It fails. “Waiting for your boyfriend to get over here and give you a victory smooch on the lips?”

As if telepathically summoned, Luffy lifts his head to look around and waves at Law who only nods in return. Luffy seems a bit confused by the cold, stiff reaction and Law tries to somehow communicate that it has everything to do with the towering oaf sitting by his side. When Luffy says something to the rest and excuses himself, Law smugly turns back to Kidd. “Wow, if I didn’t know any better I’d assume that you’re actually jealous. You’re right though, he’s coming this way. You can stay and watch us “smooch”, or you can leave?”

Kidd pulls a face when Luffy stands before them, cheerfully greeting the former. He wastes no time getting up, muttering a dark “you two are disgusting.”

Luffy shrugs it off and perches right next to his Traffy, telling him all about the barrier experience – the weird sensations after he’d entered it followed by an undeniable feeling that he will surely emerge victorious.

In the distance, Sabo and Ace give the duo mean looks, both of them quickly turning away upon eye contact with the kid who’s forcefully inserted himself into their little brother’s life without meaning to.

Luffy (probably accidentally) covers Law’s cool fingers with his own, shuffling closer and closing their already almost non-existent distance. The small action makes Law swallow, and he tunes out Luffy’s rants about one thing or another midway through, solely focused on the interesting feeling of tightness surfacing in his belly, analyzing it and its source.

When Law goes to bed that night, he finally realizes what it is, Kidd’s words echoing in his head.

He’s more than likely developed a certain kind of emotional, affectionate attachment to Monkey D. Luffy, something that, without a doubt, will spell out his fall in the near future. It’s not a crush nor is it love – Law’s pretty sure that he’s incapable of feeling any of those things – but it’s definitely something. Fuzzy, warm and exciting in its own way.

And while he’s afraid of its future development, it also makes him wonder. All he knows is that it will never actually progress and thread into a more intimate territory because the object of his affection is, unfortunately, _Luffy_ , who will never feel the same way.

 

* * *

 

No one’s too surprised when the goblet spits out Luffy’s triple-folded piece of parchment and Newgate calls him up to the front.

The majority of the students aren’t even sad or angered that they’ve failed to become the school’s representatives and cheer the lucky kid on, the Gryffindor table nearly losing it, singing some song about bravery and lions – probably a house hymn. Law nearly snorts into his glass when he spots Shanks supposedly “conducting” the off-key singers with his wand – the head of the house had absolutely went fucking insane right after hearing Luffy’s name, already tipsy from the fine booze being handed back and forth among the Hogwarts’ teachers and their esteemed guests.

A huge fire hawk circles the beautiful, enchanted ceiling of the dining hall, catching everyone’s attention and making people elbow each other – they point at Ace who has stood up from the table, wand raised and grin blindingly bright. The creature screeches in congratulations and when Luffy reaches out to touch the majestic flames, their temperature pleasantly warm, it explodes into sunset-colored fireworks. Luffy heatedly waves at his proud siblings, at his rowdy friends and gets ushered into the side room by Shanks who fervently ruffles Luffy’s messy hair and then hugs him tight.

Over Shanks’ shoulder, Luffy manages to catch Law’s wandering gaze and flashes him a peace sign before wrapping himself around his uncle.

“It’s good to be young,” Robin comments and takes a sip of her black tea, eyes closed to savor the taste and grant Law the privacy he sorely needs.

* * *

 

Luffy catches him in the hallways the following day. It takes a while for him to elbow through the swarming crowd of his fans to reach the nerdy guy fixing the strap of his backpack, feeling Luffy’s impatient stare drilling holes into his back the entire time.

“You’re wearing the straw hat,” Law points out in a way of greeting while Luffy fixes it, grinning.

“I can wear whatever I want now – one of the privileges of being a representative,” he then says and points at his legs. He’s missing the dress shoes, pants rolled up still. Luffy wiggles his naked toes at him, content with his flip flops – at least they’re black to match his uniform. His tie is undone as well along with the first few buttons of his dress shirt – in all honesty, Luffy looks debauched. “Sabo can finally rest! Like, he would constantly follow me and Ace around just to fix our ties. He kept saying that we were doing it on purpose. I wasn’t but I can’t say the same about Ace since I only recently found out that he can tie his own ties to near-perfection,” he _shishishis_.

Law tries to chase away the mental image of Portgas fumbling with his tie just to have a good excuse to get into Sabo’s face. It’s a weird thought to entertain but it’s what Luffy implies nonetheless. “Don’t get too used to it,” Law advises when they start walking. “You’ll have to go back to ties next year. If I remember correctly, your brothers are graduating soon as well. You should probably learn how to do this on your own.”

Luffy picks at the red-gold piece of cloth uselessly hanging around his neck and then shrugs. “It can’t be that hard.”

“Really?” Law smirks as he remembers his own awkward, barely-holding knots before he actually got the hang of them. He has to thank Corazon for that, who, despite never wearing ties, knows his shit far too well. “Why don’t you demonstrate, then?”

He knows a challenge when he hears one so Luffy stops mid-step with a huff and tries to tie the tie into something that looks like a proper knot. It ends up standing in the shape of a bow and at least three of Luffy’s fingers are stuck in it. He tries to fake coolness and free himself but only ends up making everything so much worse.

“Stuck?” Law asks, unable to withhold a grin.

Luffy pouts at him and wiggles the trapped limbs. “No! Just, just give me a moment. I’m gonna… get this thing under control.”

A few seconds in he gives up and lifts his head to look at the older teen who only smirks, arms crossed over his chest. “Traffy, help.”

“Stuck?” Law repeats just for the sake of being an asshole and Luffy stomps his foot at it, annoyed. Unused to being defeated in such a petty way.

“You don’t have to rub it in my face,” he says heatedly but it doesn’t look the slightest bit intimidating when he has his arm bent at an awkward angle. “Free me.”

“Oh, you surely showed me, straw hat,” Law snorts, voice dripping sarcasm, but does as he’s told anyways. “Teach me your badass tying skills next time.”

“I’ll tie _you_ up if you don’t shut - !” Luffy cuts himself off when Law pulls on the red-gold material hard to shut him up – he hasn’t even registered the multiple stares shot their way by students rushing to class in the hallway. “Be more gentle,” Luffy whines (unbearably loudly) in response to the rough treatment and some girl to their left nearly sputters upon hearing it.

Law tries to move to the side so that the others could see that he’s actually doing the dumbass Hogwarts’ champion a favor instead of… pulling suspicious moves. Lowly, Law hisses, “are you saying this on purpose?” eyes focused on the task at hand. It’s hard to keep concentration when his gaze keeps wandering to the teen’s delicate, exposed collarbones. Whoever made the decision to let this kid dress himself however the fuck he wanted was dead wrong.

Luffy doesn’t latch on to the hidden meaning of that question in particular, impatient to be freed instead of purposefully trying to embarrass the other. He starts moving around to the point Law has to grab him by the shoulders and order him to stay the fuck still.

He won’t be surprised if by the end of this exchange the entire hallway will congratulate them on their passionate, whirlwind-like teen romance.

Luffy is too innocent for his own good and wiggles his purplish fingers, sighing in contentment. “Now that’s more like it. Didn’t wanna ruin the tie,” he makes a confused face and looks at his exposed legs. “Is it just me or is it kinda chilly today?”

“It’s bloody October, what the hell do you think!?” Law snips, annoyed. Rubs at his face to calm down. “Whatever, just put on some warmer clothes, socks and don’t catch another cold.”

“But socks and sandals are uncomfortable!” Luffy whines as Law smacks him with a book.

* * *

 

Despite the lingering frustrations, Luffy still pops out from around the corner and then drags Law to his favorite place, his friends already waiting. Apparently the new champion wants to share his experiences in that side room and tell them about competition.

Law tunes it out for most of the part, watching Luffy’s animated gesturing instead. “- and that Cabbage dude nearly shaved my hair off with that sword! Who even throws decorative swords at people for getting their name wrong?”

“Did he try to correct you?” Usopp asks, leaning forward and seemingly interested in the story. He and Nami were obviously relieved about not getting picked by the goblet despite entering of their own free will – Usopp as a test for his bravery and Nami for the cash prize.

Luffy puts a hand to his chin, sitting cross-legged. “A bunch of times! But it was hard to remember and pronounce so I kept calling him Cabbage.”

“Then you deserved it.”

Luffy only shrugs and continues with the story, “And Durmstrang’s champ just kinda sat through it all and didn’t even bother helping me out or interfering which was, um, pretty rude! He really took a liking to the “Cabbage” thing. Basically he went up to me to introduce himself and said that he really liked my guts and then threatened me afterwards so I told him to get bent.”

Usopp, Chopper and Nami look mildly horrified at that whereas Zoro and Sanji burst out laughing, “This is just like you, man! I wish I was there to see it,” they say simultaneously and then glare at each other afterwards, despising the sense of unity.

“W-What happened next?” Chopper asks fearfully with a stutter to his tone, a shudder running down his lean body.

“He laughed at me and when I asked him what’s so funny – you don’t understand, I was ready to duke it out right then and there – he said that I couldn’t lay a scratch on Durmstrang’s “Cannibal” or whatever, jibed at my age as well. I told him that it sounded just like cabbage so he drew his wand and I decked him before he could go on offensive.”

Law snorts into his fist then, shaking with suppressed laughter. Leave it to Luffy to punch another school’s champion on the first day for looking down on him.

“And then?”

“Nothing really,” Luffy shrugs with a huge grin plastered on his lips. “The headmasters showed up before we could start a brawl – not like that bird-hairdo wanted to. I could tell from his demeanor. Cabbage laughed at him for receiving a hook from a kid and that was that.”

“Luffy, what if that guy curses you before the first task can even take place!?” Nami, who seems pretty upset with that ending, gets up from her crouch and then shakes the reckless teen by the collar. “This is a tournament built on the ideas of _strengthening the current bonds between the schools and their students_ , making new allies, not gaining unnecessary enemies! You should apologize to both of them!” she orders, resolute.

The Hogwarts champion only lets out a soft “tche!”

“Don’t click your tongue at me!” the Slytherin girl roars and shakes the kid even more, making his head snap back and forth at the harsh movement.

Luffy stops and steadies her by the wrists, gaze intense and oddly determined, voice serious when he firmly says “No. I won’t do it because if we got anything to solve, then we’re going to do this like real men and leave it to the tournament!”

Nami only frowns and retracts her thin arms, mouth slack when she comments on him sounding oddly mature for his age.

Law discreetly rubs at his chest area.

* * *

 

When Law meets up with Penguin and Shachi, he threatens the duo with a slow, torturous death. They quickly roll up the “CONGRATZ ON SCORING, CAP’!” banner, leaving glitter in its wake.

* * *

 

The following DADA class only adds to the ever-growing pile of rumors regarding Law and Luffy’s secret relationship.

They’re supposed to present their homework progress on the compulsory _Expecto Patronum_ spell, roll called and then invited to the front for a proper demonstration. They’ve started learning it right before the end of 4 th year’s spring semester, but the school year was over before anyone could make anything tangible appear, producing nothing more than some clouds of silvery, shapeless smoke. Even Law had struggled with that spell in particular – mostly because he had a hard time picking out a fitting memory to invoke his patronus. His mind held little good memories and the very few chosen ones were easily overpowered by the significantly larger amount of bad.

While he was practicing by himself in an empty classroom, Law found that he was showing solid progress – he could already make out the indiscernible shape of some four-legged animal. It wasn’t enough to get a high grade, though, so he dreaded the sound of his last name being called to the Professor’s desk.

He rolls up his sleeves and tries to concentrate, pushing every single less-than-terrible memory into the forefront of his mind. Thankfully the professor doesn’t rush him, watching the teen carefully.

Law visualizes his old family, mom and dad, Lammy’s face, feels her small palm in his hand, sees Corazon saving him, Corazon returning him to freedom, the house in suburban Dressrosa, the feeling of gentle breeze coming through his window.

Luffy snoozing on his bed, the sunlight making his coal-black hair shine, Luffy’s thin yet strong arms wrapped around his middle, the feeling of comfort coming with it, the intense gazes and the private moments of hands wandering, touching, fingers casually brushing whenever they walked side by side –

Law opens his eyes, tenses up and then releases that pent up energy all at once, focusing it to his wand and calling out the fateful spell, momentarily getting blinded by the bright blue lights.

Professor Smoker nearly drops his cigar and the rest of the students gasp in unison at the sheer _power_ emitted by the graceful, fast patronus. Law squints against the white-blue cloud of smoke, yearning to see what sort of shape it’s taken.

A Capuchin monkey blinks his way and continues leaping around invisible trees.

Law’s breath catches in his lungs and his eyes widen at the sight of his spiritual guardian. So this is the shape of the confusing feelings that he harbors for, ironically, _Monkey_ D. Luffy.

The little creature disappears soon after, Law having lost most of his concentration to keep it afloat, and Smoker nods his approval, “Compact in size, but strong nonetheless. If you keep practicing I’m sure it will grow into something close to a chimpanzee or a gorilla,” he says, making the reality set in.

Law quickly ducks his head and tries to ignore the incessant whispers, all of them pointing out the same, undeniable fact – Law’s guardian is homage to Luffy.

* * *

 

“Why couldn’t it be something like a flamingo,” Law mutters to himself and continues to hide out in the crummy bathroom stall. He isn’t sure what he’s running away from but he knows for sure that he’d rather not see Luffy right now, far too ashamed to look the energetic kid into the eye. He isn’t certain that he’ll be able to see the other teen in the same way ever again, the appearance of the patronus sealing Law’s fate.

This stress isn’t worth the high grade.

He casts a protective barrier around the stall when he hears even more whispers of the same content coming from the other side of the ancient door, in the direction of the sinks – _did you hear that Trafalgar Law has summoned a patronus shaped like a_ –

He lets himself drown in blissful silence.

* * *

 

Luffy doesn’t sit still until he discovers Law’s location. The latter is washing his face and staring himself down at the cracked mirrors of the boys’ bathroom when Luffy barges in, exclaiming a surprised “oh! Didn’t think it’d work!”

Law nearly groans, not bothering to keep it internal. His headache grows stronger.

He can’t look at Luffy, not directly at least, so he settles for a rushed glance at the dirty mirror, noticing the blatant relief on the boy’s face. “Leave me alone for the night,” he asks tiredly and watches the water drip down his nose and into the sink. Law braces himself against the marble counter, shoulders squared – whoever said that liking someone was a magical experience is wrong and Law would personally tell them that if he could. If he had the energy to.

“Are you alright?” the kid sounds far too worried for his own good. Trafalgar nearly gags at the smothering _care._ “You’ve been gone the entire day. Robin hasn’t seen you around at Ravenclaw’s common room so I got worried.”

“Don’t tell me you looked for me,” Law closes his eyes with a mirthless laugh. Subconsciously, he already knows the answer to that.

Luffy, as always, delivers. It’s a clear blow to his pride. “Of course!” Law can hear him coming closer, his steps unhesitating, and he doesn’t understand – shouldn’t Luffy be freaked out? Surely, he’s heard the rumors by now and if he didn’t understand the implications then he thinks that someone like Sanji has probably translated them to the younger boy by now. “I don’t know why you thought of hiding yourself away like – “

“I had some problems with my stomach,” Law lies to redirect the topic of the conversation but Luffy cuts him off before he can get far with it.

“You’re lying,” he states and Law doesn’t have it in him to disagree.

A tense moment passes. The bathroom remains empty and eerily silent – a stark contrast to its usual state during daytime. The quietness is only interrupted by the occasional gurgling of the old pipes and the drip-drop of the faucet coming out of Law’s sink.

“I heard that you summoned your patronus today,” Luffy readily resumes the rather one-sided conversation, not one to beat around the bush or to analyze people and their minimal reactions, preferring to take action and talk it out instead. Law feels another shudder race down his spine at the mention of it. Here comes the rejection.

He wants to explain himself, deny its shape maybe and salvage this friendship – one of the few things in the world that still make him feel warm inside and provide him with a sense of happiness – but Luffy carries on and Law nearly sinks to the floor. “That’s so amazing! Why didn’t you find me and show me? It’s such a powerful spell and you performed it so easily.”

Law wants to laugh at the sheer hilarity of it all – so Luffy doesn’t know. He’s still dense and untainted and pure and Law shouldn’t be near him within a five kilometer radius. Luffy’s too good for him, too kind and nice. Nonjudgmental. His voice shakes when he reassures, “It’s not all that impressive. Not yet. I don’t want to show it to you.”

“Are you certain?” the kid questions.

Law stiffly nods.

There’s no fucking way in hell that Luffy hasn’t heard the rumors and that he’s tactful enough to not bring them up or question Law about it because Luffy is a lot of things but reluctant isn’t one of them. It’s goddamn annoying, this tension and the lack of knowledge on their actual current standing, so Law angrily smacks his palms against the marble of the sink and turns to glower at the unusually calm brat. “It’s shaped like a monkey. That’s what you wanted to hear me say? If you’re done, you can fuck the hell off. I’m having a really shit day,” he mumbles the last part into his curled palm and slides down the counter, bringing his knees to his chest. He feels goddamn ridiculous.

Luffy doesn’t fuck off but neither does he press the topic any further, hoisting himself up to sit in the gap between the sinks instead, thin ankles crossed and barred legs swinging.

He seems to be thinking something over while Law seethes beneath the surface, holding back the urge to slam his head into the cold stone till he inevitably passes out.

“When I was a kid I wanted to be an animagi,” Luffy tells him. Law files the fact away and shoves it into the farthest, darkest corner of his mind holding the Luffy archives. It’s the one that he only chooses to visit in the dark of the night when sleep eludes him completely. “Ace wanted to be a hawk, Sabo wanted to be a dragon and I wanted to be a gorilla,” he laughs to himself at the fond memory. The kid has nothing but good memories – the opposite of Law who has suffered far more than a sizeable army of grown men and he is barely _fifteen_ , barely threading into adulthood. It’s one more reason why they shouldn’t be around each other – if Luffy is daytime and all things sunny, then Law is the night, cold and dark. They cannot intersect. “They’d make fun of me and say that gorillas aren’t as cool and I’d insist that they’re awesome. Because they are,” he tells Law his opinion, blissfully unaware of his friend’s brooding and heavy thoughts. “Hell, I still want to be a gorilla. Maybe I should rethink being an animagi,” he trails off, mumbling to himself. Law doesn’t need to look up to know that Luffy is rubbing at his forehead, probably red in the face from overthinking.

He could, Law thinks. Luffy is ridiculously good at Transfiguration whereas he sucks at everything else, mostly because of his attention issues.

“Where would you even go as a gorilla?” Law asks the ceiling. “You couldn’t just wander off into the city – they’d assume that you escaped from the zoo and put you in a cage.”

“But I wouldn’t be an actual gorilla, you know. So they wouldn’t be able to do that. Easily, anyways!”

“Would you break a dozen of magic laws and revert back to your human state in front of muggles?”

Luffy shrugs at the question, morals nonexistent. “Rules are lame anyways. I don’t like following them – I’d rather do things my way.”

“They come up with laws and rules so that people like you don’t get their way. They’re, you know, there for a good reason. Meant to be followed.”

“Pshaw, like you’re any better when it comes to rules, Traffy,” Luffy snorts with a crooked grin that’s just a tad off his usual, equally-blinding ones.

Or perhaps it’s all the same but he’s far too busy reading into things.

“True,” is all that Law says, grateful for the temporary distraction and closes his eyes.

They don’t really talk afterwards.

* * *

 

Luffy gets no mercy from Law.

The latter makes sure to drill every more useful spell into his student’s dense, thick skull, not letting Luffy rest up until he does his part or shows plausible progress. Because of it, he ends up hanging out at Gryffindor’s common room far too often for his liking, and in extension, next to Sabo and Ace.

It’s fucking bad but he ignores the pissy siblings and focuses on Luffy instead, swats him over the head whenever he asks dumb questions or decides to dick around with an unrelated spell instead of focusing on the one on hand. He still receives some awkward questions from fellow Raven girls with whom he’d never talked before though now that they see Law tagging along with the school’s star boys...

Their content is essentially the same; "casual" questions about Ace and Sabo’s current relationship statuses that barely make Law contain himself from rolling his eyes and biting down the overwhelming urge to say “both are taken in. By each other. Cry about it.”

Sometimes they’re offhanded comments about how cool Portgas is, on and off the Quidditch pitch. Whenever someone says something along those lines, Law unwillingly flashbacks to Ace with a scarf tied around his eyes (another dumb dare from his brothers) hesitantly walking around the half-empty common room and then blindly running into inanimate objects, tripping over his shoelaces twice.

Oh yeah, the definition of cool. If Law cared, he would be jealous.

“I suck at this,” Luffy’s prolonged whine after he fucks up _Reducto_ yet again – Law knows for a fact that the kid will not survive the first task if he doesn’t learn a basic attack spell like that – pulls him out of his wandering thoughts. Law repairs the cracked glass ball with a sharp wave of the wand and rolls it towards Luffy again, a little bored. They’ve been at it for three hours. Three long, precious hours that he could’ve spent far more productively. “I suck at spells in general,” the kid puts the wand on his pouting lips, balancing it with the upper one. Law resists the urge to smack it away. “Should’ve paid more attention at Charms class.”

“Should’ve withheld from throwing your name into the goblet if you’re this magically-stunted,” Law comments, a little pissy.

“But that’s why I have you here,” Luffy doesn’t give a shit about the attitude – he never does, Law could straight up tell him that he hates him and the other would laugh it off, it already happened like a hundred times either way – and rolls the glass object between his fingers, looking at Law’s distorted reflection through it. “You’re going to teach me what I need on time! I trust you.”

“What’s the first task like anyways?” Law asks tiredly and pries the ball away from the kid’s hand, unwilling to listen to the “hey you look funny in this angle, Traffy” shtick for much longer. Luffy boos in protest but doesn’t attempt to monopolize the little glass ball. “If you have the time to do this, then you have the energy to try the spell one more time,” he hisses but Luffy only kicks back on the chair, balancing it on two legs, arms crossed behind his back.

“M, beats me,” he says lazily. Yawns. “I hope it’s something exciting. Maybe we’ll get to fight a huge monster!”

“I can pretty much safely guarantee that you’ll be fighting a monster at some point in this tournament,” Law eyerolls. Seriously, what had the kid expected? Puppies and rainbows and _easy tasks_? Knee-high semi-ferocious lizards guarding the objective? Multiple people have died in this tournament and he knows for sure that if Luffy doesn’t stop horsing around, he’s going to end up adding to the ever-growing body pile. And Law, as much as he hates to admit it, does not want that. That’s why they’ve ended up here in the first place, really.

“Yeah, but like, it has to be cool and strong, you know?” Luffy sits back down like a normal person with the loud thud of the chair snapping back into place. Some people shoot them annoyed looks but don’t comment on it. “I’ve already had practice back at home so I don’t want to settle for anything weak! It needs to have claws, horns and breathe fire! Like a dragon or something,” he follows up his words with a lot of gesticulating, and, despite himself, Law smirks.

“That’d be an instant death sentence for you. You’d be turned into a pile of smoking ash within the span of the first three seconds.”

“I can take one,” Luffy huffs in reassurance and crosses his arms over his chest.

Law has to push his feet off the table. “A creature that has scales impenetrable to most magic spells? I doubt that.”

“I will grab it by the horns and tame it,” Luffy exclaims heatedly, far too excited over the dangerous idea. “And if it doesn’t listen to me, then I will somehow make it see things my way!”

“What, like punch it in the eye or something?”

He actually thinks about it. Quite carefully too. “Eyes aren’t scales, right? So I can totally do it. It’s fair game to bring it down like that.”

“You’d punch a dragon in the eye,” Law repeats, face expressionless and voice deadpan.

Luffy seems rather confused by the supposedly serious question. “You wouldn’t?”

The older teen is forced to shove the glass ball into Luffy’s face afterwards with an almost-plea of “just fucking practice your spells and no one will have to punch anything.” Luffy only groans, slams his head on the table top, groans again, tries, fails, ends up levitating a gum wrapper around the semi-empty classroom.

Law sighs – at least the boy knows that one, meaning he isn’t beyond hopeless. He still has to agree with Corazon, though – sending out a 4th year was beyond incomprehensible.  They barely knew their basic spells, not to mention had no understanding of the more rare and powerful ones, especially the ones meant to inflict damage. He only hopes that Luffy will be creative enough to survive the first task, though, he highly doubts that the kid will emerge victorious, most likely to take the second place. It may be Law’s bias speaking here, but personally, he thinks that the remaining two champions aren’t exactly hot shit either.

The Beauxbatons’ guy struts around the castle’s territory, leaving glitter in his wake, as though he owns the place just because he has an official champion label to stick to his name and multiple girls throwing themselves at his feet. Law’s heard plenty of ridiculous rumors about the fair-haired “Cabbage”, but he was pretty shocked to find that the one about him being banned from his home island for being “too good-looking” was true. There was even a longass, tearful article printed out in the Daily Prophet to prove it. It took Law like twenty years to read it – more like, skim over most of it and that in itself said something. The popular article wasn’t written for naught, though, seeing that it resulted in the dramatic kid’s mother publically apologizing to her only son for being blind and finally seeing the error of her ways now that her baby prince has become famous enough to interview.

If Law wasn’t too busy snorting at every third word, he would’ve noticed that from an empathic stranger’s point of view this entire ordeal was pretty damn sad. Worthy of a single shed tear at least.

Even more if you were a part of the White Horse’s fanclub.

At the end of Cavendish’s lengthy introduction that was precisely three pages long, came Bartolomeo’s turn. There wasn’t a lot of official info about him, but the author of the article had pointed out that the guy was famous in Durmstrang for his nasty, domineering attitude and that he was most likely a dark wizard in the making, christened Cannibal by his fellow peers. Law found it hard to believe, especially after he’d noticed the guy awkwardly lurking around the places that Luffy frequented the most often, never actually revealing himself or starting any sort of trouble, but hey, weirdos existed everywhere. Law knew a dark wizard when he saw one and Bartolomeo was far from it. He lacked the _malice_ despite having that intimidating exterior down to an art form – the piercings, fang-like teeth, tattoos, heavy boots and the carefully-styled, bright-colored hair certainly didn’t let down the readers’ expectations upon seeing the supposedly evil champion’s picture. He was flipping off the camera as well.

Law thinks of Bartolomeo as a try-hard extra.

He’s certain that he could take him in a fight too.

Surprisingly, Luffy’s introduction takes up the least amount of space despite the kid being _the_ Monkey D. Garp’s grandchild. Law assumes that it has to do with Luffy’s inability to hold a decent conversation, his answers unfit for printing, that is, if they even were answers. He assumes that Luffy just went off about things that were of importance to him and his fans rather than the journalist, resulting in a sparse article. They even asked for Garp’s comment – “I believe that he will go through this fair and square without disgracing his opponents in the process, and if he does, Luffy, you better prepare yourself for another mountain trip this summer” – which makes Luffy frown after seeing it and mutter something inaudible about doing the exact opposite just because he doesn’t feel like living up to the expectations.

Sabo unwillingly fills Law in on those supposed “trips” as well. Apparently, Luffy and Ace would get kicked out into the mountains swarmed by countless magical creatures to fend for themselves in order to sharpen their survival skills, become strong physically and mentally, and Garp would pick them up a week or so later, _only_ after he’d deem the boys exhausted enough to be brought back to Dadan’s place. The concept of this smells vaguely of child abuse but Law doesn’t know the exact customs of raising a wizard family and Luffy seems to love his grandpa nonetheless,  doesn’t seem to be mad or resentful towards him, so Law lets it slip.

Luffy’s moving picture is of him laughing and waving at the camera and eventually Law has to force himself to look away and put the newspaper aside, just a little warm under the collar. He desperately tries not to think about it and startles into awareness when the kid yells _“Reducto!”_ and then hoots in victorious joy, the glass ball no more than a pile of dust on the table.

“Keep up at it,” Law commands emotionlessly and rolls him another ball, making the teen frown.

He’s proud, but he sure as hell isn’t going to show it.

* * *

 

Luffy jinxes it.

After they settle in the middle of the modified Quidditch pitch’s stands and Law sees the chained up Chinese Fireball snoozing away, curled up around six eggs, three of which are golden and clearly important to the champions, who are about to emerge from the tent located further away from the ring, objective, he thinks that Luffy is sorely fucked. Anything he’s taught him will become useless when faced with a creature this grand, its scales thicker and far more reflective than any metal out there, and he fucking hopes to hell and back that Luffy will be creative enough to bypass it somehow.

At least they’ve removed the solo tasks upon renewing the tournament, so there’s that. Perhaps the remaining champions will think of a good way to distract the beast, far more experienced in advanced spells than a mere fourteen year old. Luffy could use that moment to dive under the red dragon’s belly and snatch away the eggs, making a run for it. They could also cooperate but Law highly doubts that teamwork is an option with these three – especially after those less-than-favorable first impressions.

He also knows that Luffy will come at the ferocious, horned creature with his fists raised, not one to run to safety while others are struggling. The announcer informs the overflowing stands that the champions aren’t allowed to harm the dragon and upon hearing it, Law somehow knows that Luffy will ignore this little fact if the creature threatens to burn him to cinders.

If it were Law, he thinks that he’d take all of the eggs just for the sake of being an asshole and possibly raking up more points. Of course, he’d injure the dragon as well. There were seemingly no other options left when faced with one.

He can hear Luffy’s audible “awesome!” even all the way in the towering stands when the champions enter the stone terrain and the burst of amber sparks shooting out of Newgate’s wand signifies the start of the competition.

It hurts to watch.

The arena turns into a fiery hell, drowning in ruby flames and the champions run around like chickens with their heads cut off, failing to get close to the lengthy, pissed off dragon. Cavendish desperately tries to put out the fire hungrily eating away at his Veela curls while Bartolomeo rolls out from underneath a smoking rock, ready to foolishly take on the creature all by himself.

Luffy’s red and gold uniform is smoking, thankfully burn-resistant, but he refuses to back down, bravely facing the impossibly huge beast. His barrier spells don’t hold as well as they should and he ends up cartwheeling out of the way before he can receive the brunt of the linear flames.

“What are you doing,” Law finds himself leaning over the railing, voice drowned out by multiple cheers and screams. His grip on the metal is vice-like, shaking with strain. “Run for cover, idiot!” He winces when Luffy takes another fireball to the front, his semi-proper barrier rippling from the insane heat, the force of the blast making his black hair and scorched uniform billow. There’s determination shining in his dark eyes, the kind that makes Law’s breath catch and join in with the rest of the faceless crowd, throat protesting when he yells at Luffy to _move it_ , the kid having distracted the dragon long enough for him to break into a run.

He runs in circles just to be safe, thin legs carrying him at impossibly high speeds – at least Luffy is athletic and clearly had a lot of practice with dangerous beings beforehand – and Bartolomeo makes a move, dashing towards the dragon from its behind. The creature glares at them and then back to Cavendish who has also made a move on, climbing over hot boulders to get to the barely-covered eggs.

Luffy comes close to the objective, so does Bartolomeo, and that’s when the dragon decides to abandon its newfound interest in Cavendish, twisting its long neck towards the invaders.

Law doesn’t remember the last time he’s felt this anxious about right about anything.

Luffy’s eyes widen when he meets the dragon’s hateful gaze and without thinking too much on it, he _enlarges_ his fist to ridiculous proportions and then throws it straight into its long snout.

The announcer goes fucking wild and Law nearly hits someone across the head, freaking the hell out. To his left, Nami screams her heart out, jumping in place just like the most of their row. The dragon reels from the serious punch, snorting at the stinging sensation and Luffy removes the spell, his knuckles bloody from the abrasions.

He and Bartolomeo waste no time diving under the dragon’s stout legs to take their respective eggs.

It doesn’t work.

The dragon hisses and ignores the pain, twisting around itself like a huge, ruby-colored snake. Law nearly fucking _gasps_ when he sees its smoking maw opening, flames sizzling in its throat, already aimed at the two champions.

Luffy pushes Bartolomeo out of the way.

The fireball is a momentary distraction because the dragon comes at them in earnest with its horned snout and before Law can properly make out what’s happening, the dragon is frozen by multiple wands.

Luffy’s chest is leaking gore when the kid falls off its snout with a golden egg pressed under his right arm, unconscious. Bartolomeo leaves his own secured treasure behind and dives to catch the motionless, injured champion in his arms.

Law feels cold. Somewhere above, he thinks that he can hear Portgas’ terrified “NO!”

* * *

 

Monkey D. Luffy, Hogwarts’ champion, takes the first place, barely securing it due to the careless stunt with the dragon, but at what cost?

The hallway outside the healing ward is filled with countless worried fans, family and friends, waiting for updates on Luffy’s health and healing process. The blow that he’s taken is nearly-fatal and when the pro-healers rush him away, Law elbows his way to the guest row, to the headmaster, and almost begs to be allowed to assess Luffy’s injuries, help out in any way he can.

The pro-healers mock him – “you’re but a simple student, a kid, what can you even do in this situation?” – but reluctantly allow him inside the healing ward upon Hogwarts headmaster’s orders. He reassures that Law will be a helpful addition to the staff and that they should allow him to participate.

Two hours later, Law finds himself emotionally exhausted to the marrow of his bones and up to his elbows in Luffy’s _blood_ , his “room” having saved the other’s respiratory system. The pro-healers, thankfully, have left him alone, saving the incessant questions about this new, revolutionary spell for a later date.

It will take Luffy at least three days to come to it and another two weeks of bed rest to get back his initial strength. Even with potions and magic, there’s only so much one can do.

He goes to wash his hands, unable to look at them for a second longer, and surprisingly finds Bartolomeo silently sitting at the farthest corner of the hall, face puffy from ceaseless crying. The teen had clearly snuck in right before they placed a magical barrier outside but he didn’t cause a commotion of any sort, letting the healers do their work.

When the green-haired champion sees Law’s hands, he bursts into a fountain of fresh tears and snot, a hand pressed to his mouth to hold back all and any noise threatening to spill from his mouth. Law thinks that the other looks pathetic but he’s also aware that the mess on his hands could be interpreted the wrong way, so he awkwardly reassures the sobbing champion that Luffy didn’t die on the operating table or something along those lines.

“Will Luffy be okay?” Bartolomeo whimpers through the gaps of his wet fingers.

It strikes Law as odd but he figures that Durmstrang’s champion has been touched by Luffy’s selfless, careless act to the very depths of his soul, thus the weeping and the smothering care. He only nods and disappears in the private bathroom, carefully washing off the remains of gore from the teal-colored healer’s gloves.

* * *

 

Luffy, as always, bounces back faster than expected.

People are constantly flowing in and out of the healing ward, dragging “get well soon” presents, along with food stolen from the kitchen. Luffy’s bed is overflowing in wrappers and ribbons from gifts of all sizes and Law refuses to leave.

Luffy doesn’t take too kindly to this display of heart-clutching devotion and always kicks Law out right before the curfew, telling him to get some rest. Reassuring that he’s not going to up and die just because he had a gaping hole in his chest no more than a week ago, now covered up by an ugly scar.

Ace and Sabo hear about Law’s efforts, his input in their little brother’s healing process, and they readily apologize for their shit behavior up to that point, making Law more than a little uncomfortable when Ace puts a hand on Law’s shoulder and entrusts Luffy to him. It’s oddly disturbing, but Law refuses to say anything about it.

“If you make him cry or misplace a single hair on his head, I will find you and I will _curse_ you,” Sabo whispers in a menacing way, proving Law’s crazy theory about the blond being far more protective than Portgas. He shoots Law a supposedly friendly smile afterwards and rushes out to rejoin the freckled teen.

Law can’t help but feel grateful for the fact that Ace and Sabo are in their 7th year and he will not have to deal with them ever again.

Trafalgar dutifully attends class, doesn’t participate as much as he usually would and everything goes back to normal despite it being everything but that now that Luffy has taken a liking to mindlessly holding onto his hand whenever they visited and Portgas seemingly didn’t mind it, too focused on cheering his little brother up.


	5. Chapter 5

 

On the first snow day of the semester, Law hears the words Yule Ball.

As days go by, more and more people engage in this topic to the point he cannot walk down the hall without hearing passing conversations about it. Apparently it’s a ball that’ll be held on Christmas Eve to commemorate the first not-Triwizard tourney ever and Law is less than excited about it. He sees no point in dances – mindlessly, he compares this nonsense to muggle prom – and firmly turns down the one or two girls brave enough to ask him out. Afterwards, no one dares to approach, the rumors of his tactless verbal cruelty being confirmed and all. He doesn’t know what he did wrong, really, he simply said “no” without properly hearing them out. He guesses that to some people that just wasn’t enough but he isn’t here to be friendly and pretend to be interested when he’s clearly not.

There’s only _one_ person he wouldn’t mind taking to that ridiculous ball, but chances of Luffy asking him out are close to none seeing that he is Hogwarts’ champion and according to the long-lasting tradition, the champions were to start the evening via asking their _opposite sex_ partners for a waltz. As far as Law was concerned, he and Luffy are painfully male.

Besides, Luffy is too damn adored for his own good, so he will surely find someone better. He _has to_ find someone otherwise he’s going to get into deep shit with the headmaster and Luffy respects the old man far too much to skip out on the entrance ceremony in an attempt to prove his rebelliousness.

Nami and Usopp take a lot of interest in the Yule topic as well and continuously question everyone about whom they’ll be asking out and when. The gossiper duo wants them to include all of the juiciest details too, a thing that Law cannot do, but apparently, the more approachable members of their little friend group can.

They sit in Luffy’s favorite hallway when Ace and Sabo show up, heading in the direction of Transfiguration classroom. Ace looks considerably flustered about something while Sabo continues to tease his brother-in-arms, elbowing the freckled teen’s ribs.

They stop by to say hello – apparently they still have twenty minutes left to class so they can allow themselves a little detour – and when Nami asks what the big deal is, Sabo swats Ace’s prying fingers away from his neck and tells them, “Oh, nothing, I was just egging Ace-dear here to ask out our hot-a-tot Transfig teach for Yule, s’all.”

Law coughs into his fist and vaguely notices that the reaction of the rest is roughly the same. Most of them are less focused on the fact that Ace should ask out _a man_ and more on the revelation that the said man is “Professor Marco!?” Nami gags as Ace turns bright red, a shade darker than the massive clay necklace hanging around his neck.

“Shut the hell up, Sabo!” he squeaks and attempts to cover his cackling brother’s mouth, failing in his task.

“I don’t think Pineapple Man will say yes,” Luffy mutters, frowning. For some unknown reason, he seems displeased. “He’s scary.”

“I think you’re missing the most important factor here - it’s a teacher,” Usopp wisely points out and then shoots Ace a pitying look. “I’m sorry to hear that it’s not working out for you. Perhaps you can ask someone else?” he says in an attempt to soothe the other.

“I wasn’t going to ask out bloody Marco!” Ace yells, covering his flushed face. “Sabo’s just making shit up to get the rise of me.”

“I’m not,” Sabo chirps happily.

“You are.”

“I’m not, though!” Sabo reassures smugly, not one bit mindful of Ace’s dignity or his denial. Luffy’s friends keep switching between looking at them with every word exchanged, entertained by this news. “You pretty much turn into a mess whenever he so much as rolls up his sleeves, don’t even lie. Your gross heart-eyes could be seen all the way from space, bro. Get that phoenix booty,” Sabo delivers the finishing blow via giving him an encouraging thumbs up and then gets subjected to a whole lot of chokeholds.

Even if it was true and Ace really was supposedly hot for the teacher, Law’s aware that asking out professors is dumb but he’s also pretty damn sure that their well-known animagi Transfiguration professor would simply look Portgas in the eye and say “sure, whatever” just to mess with him. Perhaps Marco would even go through with it.

So in the end, it’s a fifty-fifty sort of deal.

“I’m sending _you_ to space if you keep this up,” Portgas threatens through grit teeth while noogieing Sabo into submission and continues to converse with Nami who asks about his plans for a date.

“I’m not asking out anyone,” Ace states firmly and abruptly lets go of his victim who quickly fixes his tousled appearance. Being a Prefect is a pain in the ass, Law knows it far too well. He was forced to take out his earrings whenever he attended to his duties – apparently they made him look like a punk or something. Not that he wasn’t one already. “I already got enough invitations but I had to turn them down. Whenever I agree to see someone they always… uh, think that it’s serious. And they get _ideas._ I don’t want that,” he finishes, awkward. “I thought I would go there to chill and, I dunno, steal food or something. Have a good time with this prick over here,” he lightly pushes Sabo by the shoulders who easily steadies himself and grabs at his chest in a dramatic way.

“Oh, so that’s how it is. Ace, you romantic teddy bear, I’m so pleased to find that you want me to be your date to Yule,” privately, Law assumes that to be the case here, judging by the faint blush overtaking Portgas’ face and the hopeful glint in his gray eyes. Sabo remains blissfully oblivious and continues speaking, “But I’m afraid I already promised myself to Koala, so. I guess you’ll have to ask out someone else.”

If Ace really does look crestfallen at that, no one truly pays it any attention. Nami’s far too busy excitedly asking Sabo about his companion – apparently Sabo’s best friend had offhandedly mentioned that they’ll be going together _months ago_ and the blond mindlessly agreed to it – to notice the freckled kid’s ever-growing butthurt.

“I thought it’d be just you and me!” Ace gasps, a light frown carving the space between his sharp eyebrows. “You know, our last year. Yule ball. It’s _Yule_ , dude, c’mon. A once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Sabo shrugs, not seeing the problem with that. “Catch me and Koala later in the evening and we’ll have a blast.”

Portgas only huffs and murmurs something about it not being the same.

* * *

 

Zoro seems to side with Portgas on the whole “not asking anyone out” deal and determinedly stomps away from the sizable queue of nervous, possible future dates, pissed at Sanji’s infinite teasing. The latter, after a whole lot of painstaking effort, scores himself a hot, promising date with Nami, who agrees to it under these conditions: Sanji is to treat her at Hogsmeade the next time they visit, and Nami stresses the word Hogsmeade because she assures him that they’ll be visiting a lot of places, and the blond is to buy her the most expensive, extravagant corsage to compliment her peach-hue dress.

Law would feel sorry for the guy’s wallet but Sanji knows what he’s getting himself into so he really doesn’t give a shit.

Nami then congratulates Usopp on successfully asking out the pretty Beauxbatons’ student named Kaya. He’s been keeping a close eye on the quiet gal since day one, too anxious to strike up a conversation. In the end, he gets the nerve to do it only because he reassures himself that he’ll emerge from this as a braver, possibly luckier, person. Plus, as Nami had mentioned many times before, Usopp had nothing to lose other than dignity and the measly remains of courage.

His efforts pay off, despite the stuttering and the weak knees.

Nami turns to question Luffy, who continuously keeps turning down more-than-eager dates for reasons unknown. He says that he simply doesn’t feel like opening the dance with someone he hardly knows. In fact, forget the dance. He doesn’t feel like attending it either.

“Shanks gave me an earful when I asked him if I could just skip the opening ceremony,” Luffy sticks a pinky into his ear as though chasing away a phantom ache. “Told me that there’s no chance in hell. I just wanna go for the feast. I don’t even know how to dance,” Luffy complains. “Gramps even sent me a festive robe and everything.”

“I could go to the opening dance with you, but it won’t come cheap,” Nami winks, rubbing her fingers together and Luffy puffs out his cheeks, tells her that she’s stingy.

“Well, I doubt that Robin will agree to it,” she hums and then trails off, thinking of other options, eyes scanning the hallway. “Perhaps you can ask Vivi? I think she’s yet to find a date.”

“I love Vivi, but she told me that she doesn’t want a date unless it’s a very nice and sweet girl,” Luffy mindlessly rats out his closeted fellow teammate and Nami nearly doubles over from her overwhelming coughing fit. “Didn’t tell me anything about the dance though.”

“Looks like you picked the wrong person to the ball,” Law says smugly, pretending to read. It’s a little weird that the Slytherin girl never noticed – the signs were all there. And yet she still claimed to have a thing for the blue-haired Chaser. Ridiculous. Luffy turns to face him with a questioning look while Nami tells Law to put a sock in it. She does, however, look visibly upset about this unfortunate development. Law knows that she’d dump Sanji in a heartbeat if the blue-haired girl agreed to be her date for the night. Unfortunately for Nami, she still had enough morals to not consider that idea.

“Traffy, are you taking anyone?” Luffy asks for the billionth time that week and Law still tells him that no, he’s not interested in dates and dances and everything in between.

He wouldn’t be attending if Corazon hadn’t threatened him into it, shoving a bag containing his festive robe into his chest. Law thought that he could casually leave it back in his room and skip this nonsense, but unfortunately for him, Corazon was always three steps ahead.

“Wanna go with me then?” Luffy casually asks, balancing a quill on his pursed lips and Law inhales so suddenly that now he’s the one erupting into startled coughs.

Nami looks at him with a triumphant sort of expression on her face. Douche.

“I don’t – “ Law nearly hacks out a lung, “what?”

“You heard me,” Luffy smiles wickedly, eyes crinkling in the corners, and toes at Law’s calf. Heat permeates the spots that have been touched, making Law unknowingly tense up.

“I’m absolutely not opening the ceremony with you,” Law states, beyond baffled. Never, not even in his wildest dreams, he would’ve been able to come up with this bizarre scenario.

Luffy actually asked him out to Yule Ball. _Him._ And he didn’t even make it seem like a big deal or anything.

What the fuck. Is he lucid dreaming or something? He discreetly pinches his hand – it hurts. No, this is undeniably real, as surreal as it seems.

The kid has it in him to pout, upset by the deadpan rejection. “Let’s say that I ask Vivi for that one, but what about afterwards? I wanna go with you!”

“Luffy –“ Law begins, face slowly coloring. Is he even aware of what he’s saying, what he’s implying here? Does he not know that this is supposed to be a supposedly… romantic thing? That’s precisely what most of the student body implied anyways.

“I want you as my _date_ , I’ve decided,” Luffy stresses to clear up all and any possible future misunderstandings, rendering Law completely speechless.

However, despite the appeal, Law cannot for the life of him visualize himself dancing away with Monkey D. Luffy with thousands of eyes following their every movement underneath the blindingly bright spotlights. Strangely enough, though, _he can_ clearly see himself spending some quality one-on-one time with the other teen afterwards. Somewhere further away from the crowd, away from the curious students and indifferent teachers, somewhere peaceful where Law could comfortably sit down right next to him, look him in the eye and then –

With a sharp shake of his head, he hastily stands up and stutters out a weak and rather lame “I have to go” nearly _running_ out of the hallway.

* * *

 

If nothing else, Luffy is fucking persistent.

He whines and begs and wraps himself around Law’s limbs and begs him some more to be his date for the Yule ball and it takes exactly four days for Law to get enough courage to properly turn him down and painstakingly explain his on the spot bullshitted reasons why.

Luffy doesn’t seem to care about this whole heteronormativity crap, dead set on taking his Traffy for a spin, so he brushes Law’s valid arguments away like they’re nothing. He doesn’t want to ask anyone from his friend group because they all have their eyes set on someone else but when Law points out that he could simply go with Zoro, Luffy bites at his lower lip and anxiously looks away.

It’s pretty clear that there are solid reasons why he doesn’t do that so Law really doesn’t want to pry. Zoro’s reluctance to get close to people is his own private business.

In the end, Law caves in, a little curious himself. “Fine. I’ll go to the stupid dance with you but only if you and Nefertari agree to open the ceremony. I don’t care how you do it, but I refuse to make a fool of myself.”

Luffy seems to think it over, but it’s Law’s best offer so he reluctantly agrees. “You wouldn’t make a fool of yourself! We both would,” he grins. As if that’s supposed to make Law feel any better about himself. “Thanks for agreeing, though, I knew you’d say yes eventually! You’re the best, Traffy,” Luffy then spares him a quick hug and a friendly parting wave which makes Law’s hair stand up on the back of his neck.

“Whatever, you wouldn’t have left me alone otherwise,” Law murmurs after Luffy’s retreating back, heartbeat loud in his ears.

* * *

 

Law’s fully aware that he looks stupid. He notices it after putting on the ridiculous bright yellow tie. No amount of running a shaky palm over his fluffy, untamable strands helps him overcome this gnawing feeling of… looking like some sort of misplaced joker.

Clown is the proper term to use, Law remembers, when he descends the grand staircase and looks at his polished shoes instead of taking in the beautiful decorations of the halls – everything is decked out in fake, shimmering ice and snow, countless jewel-like icicles hanging off the ceiling giving the impression of a wintery cozy cave rather than castle – while desperately trying to ignore the hushed whispers and looks. They’re analyzing him, judging and criticizing, and while Law knows that walking with more confidence would make him appear less of a target, he’s far too tired and anxious to do so.

He spots Luffy almost immediately.

It’s hard to miss the obnoxious kid, really – his outfit is bright and a little different from the traditional festive robe. He looks like a small flame, the outfit made of expensive wine-red material with golden details woven into it. Luffy’s collar is different as well, resembling that of a jacket rather than the smooth one of the robe and the outfit in itself bears a striking resemblance to some old muggle war uniform.

Much later on, Law realizes that it reminds him of a pirate’s coat.

The kid notices him hesitantly making his way towards their group of friends and while everyone collectively gasps upon seeing Ace descend with Boa Hancock holding onto his left arm, her silver gown shimmering no worse than the suspended icicles, Luffy looks at Law as though he’s the most important person in the room. The _only_ person.

It makes Law a little hot under the far too tight pristine-white collar as he joins the rest, balking at the wave of unexpected _compliments_ he receives.

“I like what you did with your hair,” Robin approves quietly and Law self-consciously runs a hand over the slicked back hair, feeling a little stupid now that he’s been put on display like that. It barely stays in place so Sanji takes it upon himself to fix it for him, glaring at Luffy’s ribbon-like bowtie as though it has somehow personally offended him.

“I can’t believe this evil goblin thought it to be okay to pick up a random golden ribbon from his mountain of presents and craft himself a shit excuse for a ribbon-tie,” Sanji mutters more to himself and less to Law, gaze focused on his hair when he pats down the stubborn coal-black strands, spreading out some gel here and there, “And to use Nami’s beautiful earring to clip it into place…! I want to burn it.”

“I think he looks alright,” Law says and Sanji gives him a look so _sour_ that he appears to have devoured six lemons at once.

“You two demons deserve each other,” he comments, voice dripping with disgust, and takes a step back to admire his handiwork.

“Even better,” Zoro makes himself known, dressed in a simple black robe. He’s forgone the necktie completely, shirt messily tucked in. “Lookin’ sharp there.”

“Can’t say the same for you,” Sanji answers in Law’s stead, giving Zoro a critical onceover. “Did you decide to nap midway through? Forgot the ironing spells?”

“As a matter of fact, I did,” the guy rolls his eyes, mindlessly brofisting Luffy who continues asking about Chopper’s whereabouts – the boy has succeeded in scoring an amazing date with a girl four years his senior. He was too damn excited for Yule too, being only thirteen and all. “And it was a damn great nap in case you were wondering.”

“You’re a fool for assuming that I care about anything you do, moss head,” Sanji snips and turns his back on the green-haired Gryff.

“Sure seemed to _care_ about whether I got myself a date for Yule or not.”

The blond lets out an indignant gasp at such bold accusation but before he can say something offensive and start yet another toddler fight, Shanks drunkenly sidles up to Luffy and tells him to get his ass moving to the hall coz they’re about to start.

“You _do_ have a date like I asked, right?” the head of the house asks rather nervously. Luffy only grins in reply, hitting a fist against his chest.

“You betcha!”

Luffy then takes off, skidding to a smooth halt right in front of his very unhappy older brother who points out Vivi to him and exaggeratedly rolls his eyes when Boa presses her palms to her pale cheeks, flushing at the fact that Luffy paid her some attention. It’s a little sad, Law thinks, but quickly chases the lingering pity away because it’s gradually overwhelmed by the disgusting sadness he feels for himself and his breaking heart. Luffy drags Vivi away from the Charlotte sisters and laughs when she stumbles, unused to high heels, steadying her by their linked hands. Vivi doesn’t seem to be mad or annoyed by her energetic date despite not wanting to be his dance partner for the night and they move to the double doors leading to the hall, whispering something to each other all the while, laughing every now and then.

“Sucks, doesn’t it?” Nami asks and Law wants to reply with something incredibly sarcastic but he notices the girl staring ahead with a miserable expression on her pretty face, curly hair covering her eyes. It’s not meant to be taken as a challenge – rather a secret consolation. Both of them are stuck in the same boat but whereas Law’s side is barely sinking, the rags stuffed into its holes somehow keeping it together, Nami’s is already flooded.

Luffy turns around to look at his friends to wave their way right before he and Vivi hurriedly head inside, following Cavendish and his date.

Once there are so many students outside that Law barely has the room to breathe, the double doors magically open and finally let them enter, mysterious yet joyous music filling the premises. Grateful, Law moves inside with the rest and stands further away from the dancefloor, more than a little salty about this ordeal.

He really doesn’t want to be there tonight.

The headmasters give them some supposedly heartwarming lengthy speech, making Law all the more unnecessarily anxious and depressed, and it seems to last for centuries until the orchestra positioned behind the teachers’ table begins to play. The music is soft, fitting for a slow waltz, and Law watches the champions enter the dancefloor from the other direction, the lights dimming.

Resentment doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Cavendish and his partner seemingly usurp everyone’s attention. The beautiful pair spinning in wide circles, both dressed in white, billowing clothes, looks as though it’s just stepped out from some old fairytale, but Law’s hawk-like gaze never leaves Luffy who’s far too busy staring at his feet to notice anything else, the distance between him and Vivi way too wide to be comfortable. They look stiff as hell, stepping into the rhythm with near perfection only because Vivi gives up halfway through and begins leading Luffy who learns the simple steps in a heartbeat.

The gap set between them visibly shrinks as they get more comfortable, accustomed to the awkward exchange, and Luffy finally dares to lift his head and look his date in the eye, no longer fearful of crushing the girl’s exposed toes. Vivi smiles in reassurance and Luffy returns the gesture, retaking the lead.

The dance partners seem to be having the time of their lives, and slowly, more and more pairs trickle into the dancefloor, eventually filling up the spacious ballroom. Law feels stupid just standing around so he follows after Zoro and the dozen of solo goers to the farthest corner of the hall, dimly lit and stacked with various foods.

Apparently it’s only a display case and Zoro nabs a few menus, says something about reserving them one of the multiple round tables but Law already knows that it’s not gonna go as planned. He doubts that anyone will join them anytime soon.

“Shit yeah, they have beer,” Zoro says after kicking back on the intricate, white chair. “Time to drink myself to death.”

“Don’t know what kind of genius thought it’d be a good idea to give fourteen year old toddlers an easy access to booze, but I’m not complaining,” Law comments and watches rice and veggies appear on his empty plate. Well, at least he gets something out of this.

“It’s fine as long as no one gets wasted, right?” Zoro shrugs and then his glass fills with beer. Not a big amount of it, but it’s still there nonetheless. He seems pleased though. “Time to, as muggles say it, get turnt. Cheers to us, dateless losers,” he then downs half of the glass in one go, shuddering at the aftertaste. Law wonders if this is Roronoa’s first taste of this beverage in particular, but decides not to question it. He doesn’t really care enough to do so.

“Didn’t see you having any problems with that,” Law trails off casually and takes a sip of water. The food is bland.

The effective words summon a reaction he’s been secretly hoping to witness. Zoro visibly tenses up, tugging at the collar of his dress shirt. He shoots the dancefloor a wary look and then fixes his indecipherable gaze on Law. Drinks the rest of the beer.

Remains deceptively quiet and then asks him this instead, “You drink beer, Mr. Heart stealer?”

Law frowns at the odd question and nickname – seems that Luffy’s name-calling has reached far and wide. “I don’t drink in general.”

“Good sport,” Zoro snorts into the glass and yet another fresh glass fills up with the bubbling amber liquid. “Time to get over that. Here, beer,” he hands it to Law.

Law pushes it away, voice firm when he reassures “I don’t drink.”

“Do it for me?”

“I don’t think that’s gonna work, keep trying.”

“Do it for yourself.”

“Fuck that.”

“Yourself and Luffy?”

Law hesitates and cautiously repeats “I don’t _usually_ drink,” which roughly translates into “I’ve never tried it before” but he’s not about to confess to that.

“You do now,” Roronoa says with a smug smirk when he places the glass before Law with a final thud, making its contents spill and soil the pale blue tablecloth. “Cheers, Traffy.”

“Don’t call me that,” Trafalgar barks and brings the scentless drink to his lips, taking a tentative sip. It’s pretty damn gross but manageable so he can allow himself this much.

Zoro laughs.

* * *

 

After five glasses, they stop getting refills, the minors apparently having some restrictions involved with alcoholic beverages. However, due to Zoro nearly inhaling that shit with no breaks in between, he gets pretty damn buzzed. Law doesn’t feel a thing, having had only that one glass to satisfy his own curiosity. The beer doesn’t fail to make his stomach churn uncomfortably though and he cannot wait for it to settle the hell down.

The students are still dancing away, now to much more energetic beats.

The conversation between them is alright, entertaining even, and when Zoro snorts at the hilarity of witnessing Gryffindor’s Keeper and team captain Ace “gracefully” spinning around with Slytherin’s Seeker Boa who attempts to grind Ace’s toes into dust when the guy tells her something clearly rude and insulting and then shoves his head aside to get a better look at Luffy who seems to be having a blast with Vivi, Law revisits his prior question.

Zoro is loose-tongued enough to actually answer this time, vaguely, but clear enough. “Dunno, I just didn’t feel like going with a _girl_ if you get me,” he says, supposedly subtle. Law nods, gaze focused on the red of Luffy’s distinctive robe flashing between the mass of dancing bodies. “I don’t see the appeal in these things. Never been interested in any of this,” he waves a hand around for emphasis, “It may sound weird to others, but like.” Zoro doesn’t even bother to finish his sentence, shrugging instead.

“Would you rather be outside hitting balls?” Law offers, smirking.

“Dude, if I had the fucking access to those, I’d be out of here before you could even blink,” he places his head on the table, sighing heavily. “Plus, you know, it’s Luffy’s big ball or whatever. Couldn’t leave him.”

“I don’t think he would’ve allowed you even if you wanted to.”

“Yeah, man, he probably would’ve skipped out on this bullshit just to go look for me or something. Didn’t feel like causing unnecessary trouble and drama,” Zoro tells the table. “He gets enough of that from our housemates.”

Law falls silent, a little taken aback by this bit of information. By now, he’s visited the Gryff’s tower plenty of times and he’d never noticed any sort of tension between Luffy and the rest – quite the opposite really. The students would chat him up on every opportunity they got, never failing to say their goodbyes and hellos, always wishing Luffy a good night before retreating to their respective quarters, leaving the boy and Law completely alone. Luffy would spend the next few hours struggling with spells and Law would nod off by the fireplace and check up on his student every now and then. Sometimes Luffy would fall asleep in the middle of casting a spell. Other times he’d fold his arms on the table and look into the flames, uncharacteristically quiet and contemplative. Those moments of peace were the ones that Law appreciates the most, for once completely comfortable in Luffy’s presence.

Their eyes would meet and Luffy would usually call it a night, not wanting Law to get busted for sticking around hours after the established curfew.

During weekends, Law would visit the day after, only semi well-rested but at least a functional human being, and he’d find Luffy in the same spot where he’d left him and he’d wonder if the hyperactive kid ever slept. Luffy would sometimes surprise him too, show Law his progress and then he’d drag him outside for a hefty breakfast.

Zoro laughs at his lost expression. “You wouldn’t believe the amount of people who warned him to stay the fuck away from you,” Law can imagine, though, “Everyone and their cat thought that you were a bad influence on him. It was especially bad when it came to the ones who are the closest to Luffy. When you left the healing ward after that Bellamy incident, we had a serious fight over you.”

Law places a hand on his chest, voice dripping sarcasm when he says “My, didn’t think myself important enough for people to fight over.”

“Neither did I,” Zoro confesses with a light shrug. “It wasn’t that big of a deal. You helped Luffy out and he started trusting you immediately. He’s my best friend and I believe in him and his insane gut feeling and I support his ideas no matter how crazy. He’s never _wrong_ and he knows what’s good for him, for all of us. Luffy said that you’re a good person, so it meant that you’re good. He said that befriending you would make him happy, so none of us could deny him that. Not even _Ace_ who straight up forbade him from seeing you. He didn’t want Luffy to associate himself with a person who’d readily hex someone they simply didn’t like. Look how well that turned out.” They snort at the visual created by Ace and his fiery date. Law mourns his toes.

Zoro leans in to whisper into Law’s ear in a conspiring way. His breath smells vaguely of alcohol. Law’s far too focused on the ensuing conversation to subconsciously pull away, uncomfortable with his personal space being breached. “He’d die for you, you know.”

Law recoils then. “He’d die for anyone who’s shown him a grain of _kindness_ , you mean,” he frowns and finishes his glass. In the distance, Luffy bows to Vivi who curtsies in return, a formal thank you for the dance. “If he knows what’s good for me, though, he will not die. He’s going to live _forever_ and keep on doing weird shit. Continue meddling. You know, stuff he fucking exceeds at.”

Zoro says nothing and rewards Law with _a look._ As though he’s missing the point completely. Perhaps he is. The green-haired teen then gets up and mentions something about needing fresh air. Law lets him go and after Zoro leaves his sight, his figure disappearing between the glass doors leading to a pale fairy light-lit garden, he takes off as well, heading in the opposite direction.

Luffy reluctantly accepts yet another dance offer, this time from Hancock. She didn’t hesitate in dumping her own aggravating date after the man told her that she was far more graceful in air rather than on solid ground. She’s fully aware that he’s only acting like a prick because of some lingering saltiness – Ace is far too respectful to treat his dates like shit.

* * *

 

For all intents and purposes that come with avoidance, drama seems to find Zoro regardless.

Law’s enjoying the night breeze on his face, standing in a dimly-lit open balcony when he overhears _the_ conversation. He cannot see the people conversing, but recognizes the puberty-strained voice that belongs to Sanji regardless. It’s a little weird to find him _here_ of all places instead of the crowded dancefloor, superglued to Nami’s side, so Law decides to casually listen in on it, moving away from the suspended lanterns.

In the luscious garden below, he sees Roronoa do the same, taking a few silent steps back to stand behind the tall decorative hedges.

Sanji’s been acting strange ever since the Triwizard Cup ceremony, to the point that even _Law_ has noticed it. He didn’t want to assume that it had anything to do with Luffy becoming the champion, but at this point, it was a bit hard to tell. His relationship with the rest has sort of… become strained and under no circumstances Sanji was to spend time with Zoro with no one else around, no one to put a stop to their ensuing toddler fights that tended to escalate and turn serious, usually resulting in days’-worth of mutual silence if they weren’t pacified on time.

“Can’t believe this waste of space got himself a babe for a girlfriend,” one of the guys laugh raucously and Law notices fur lining their dark robes. Durmstrang, huh? Is he seriously being bullied? “Either she’s blind or she’s got no standards. Why don’t you introduce her to me, hm, Sanji? She could do so much better.”

“Say one more word about Nami-swan and you’ll regret following me outside,” Sanji hisses lowly, keeping his voice down. Law can still hear how angry the other is.

“Now, where are your manners, Yonji?” another voice interferes, sending a shiver of disgust down Law’s spine. Immediately, he is reminded of Doflamingo. “You know fully well that girls are far more than a pair of tits attached to legs. Father would be so disappointed,” despite the scolding statement, it’s pretty clear that it is meant to be intentionally sarcastic.

“The old man would be disappointed if he knew what sort of bastards he raised, but wait, I forget, he’s a goddamn _dick_ too,” Sanji spits, straightening up. Clearly shifting into a battle stance. It looks like the situation is about to escalate - Law wonders whether he should stay out of this. Then again, Luffy would be upset if he didn’t shoot at least one petrification spell at those nasty oafs. He’d do it in the kid’s stead.

At least he wasn’t dumb enough to leave behind his wand.

The fight that ensues has nothing to do with magic though. The first guy called Yonji-whatever grabs Sanji by the collar of his light blue robe and easily hoists him off the ground using one arm only, his strength seemingly superhuman. Sanji claws at the dude’s grip to keep himself from choking but doesn’t struggle, doesn’t look away. His arctic-hued gaze is fierce, filled with rage.

“Looks like you’ve forgotten your place,” the guy growls. “Apologize, slug,”   

Sanji continues glaring and then huffs, a defiant smirk pulling at his thin lips, “Whoa, you’ve finally developed emotions. Congrats. Did Father make you drink some potions? Is that why you supposedly care?”

“I don’t,” Yon-whatever reassures and somehow Law knows that it’s not a lie. He looks much closer to a murder machine rather than a human being, that’s the vibe Law gets from the man anyways. “But I’d never pass up an opportunity to shove your face into dirt. Such bold words for a waste of space,” he tightens the vice-like grip. At this point, Sanji looks like he’s having trouble inhaling. The faceless guy analyzes the choking blond’s face. “Did they teach you how to be a cocky shithead at that worthless _muggle’s_ place?”

“I learned how to act like a dick by observing you, brother. Not that hard. Surely, even a gorilla like you can understand this much.”

“Sanji,” the other interrupts with a threatening tone and the blond cuts him off, defiant.

“Don’t you fucking dare to say my name! Or associate yourselves with me. I’m a goddamn stranger to you, remember? And I wouldn’t have it any other way after what you freaks did to mom.”

The nameless guy uselessly standing around and simply watching this unfold says “You’re a disgrace for wimping out,” and his hand disappears in the sleeve of the maroon robe at the same time Law’s does.

Sanji resigns himself to his fate, anger and resentment clouding his better judgement, dead set on dealing verbal damage. “And you’re all bloody idiots for staying behind in that shit-hole. If I had to pick between staying with you lot or running away, I’d gladly do it again.”

Law points his wand in the direction of the trio, a curse resting on the tip of his tongue, when Zoro bravely steps out from the clearing, beyond stiff and radiating unspeakable malice. The guy scowls at the abrupt interruption and hides the wand, but the one choking Sanji is yet to lower his hand. The pathetic sight makes Zoro come to a halt, shoulders pulled back and voice threatening when he commands “Let him down.”

The Yonji guy bursts out into mocking laughter.

“Whoa, Sanji, looks like you got yourself a fan. Your secret boyfriend?” he gasps out, teary-eyed.

Zoro remains quiet despite being looked down on, radiating this cool, shiver-inducing anger and Law sees Sanji’s blue eyes widen. He then starts struggling in earnest, voice strained when he _insists_ for Zoro to leave.

“You heard him,” the unoccupied teen steps into the light and Law makes out dark blue hair, eyes covered by shades. Of course assholes would wear sunglasses at night. “Beat it, kid. Family business.”

Zoro seemingly ignores him, quizzically looking up at Sanji’s suspended, lean form. “You didn’t tell me you’re a goddamn Vinsmoke.”

The latter produces a high-pitched, strained sound of exasperation. “Does it look like it matters right now!?”

It matters, Law thinks. It matters because Vinsmokes are one of the most influential bloodlines up to date, one of the seven ancient bloodlines. They’re like Doflamingo and his lot of conceited bastards, all of them constantly seeing themselves above the rest. Law has to fight off the urge to hex the douchebags on the spot just for that alone.

He gets jostled for speaking out of turn. Zoro seemingly doesn’t appreciate it. “No, this rag isn’t a part of us,” the big kid snarls. “He’s a goddamn blood traitor is what he is.”

“Never liked you people and your pure-blood superiority complex,” Zoro says in a bored tone, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “Don’t really care for it. But that’s _my friend_ you’re holding and you gotta set him down before I kick your ass.”

“You hear what he’s sayin, Niji? The little twerp here is gonna kick our ass,” Niji – the blue-haired prick – snorts at the assumption. “What do you say we show him his place? He can take the fall for this shithead if he really wants to,” the gorilla roughly throws Sanji on the ground, leaving him defenseless. Law cannot believe that he didn’t take a wand with him. Especially when he’s fully aware of the fact that his biological siblings are attending the feast as well.

Zoro wastes no time positioning himself in front of the blond despite the latter’s heated protests “Zoro, don’t be fucking stupid. Leave me alone, you’ve nothing to do with this.”

Zoro decidedly ignores it, wand already out.

“Step aside, greenie,” the rough gorilla-like dude moves in closer, hands shoved in his pockets. Law has no doubt in his mind that he’s already got his hand around a wand.

The green-haired idiot grins at that, taunting, “Why don’t you come over here and make me, moss head.” Law observes Zoro’s hair turn an obnoxious shade of red, nearly glowing in the pale moonlight, and they raise their wands, but, as though he’s been summoned, a teacher appears in the clearing with a pink-haired girl following in tow.

Law ignores the reprimands and the questions about there being a possible fight and he’s almost disappointed to see the Vinsmokes leave, shooting nasty glares over their shoulders all the while. The pink-haired girl stays behind to check Sanji for injuries, conveniently hidden out of sight, and reluctantly leaves, sending the blond a lingering, worried stare before reentering the castle. It somehow doesn’t make Sanji go into a girl-coma, which is weird in itself, but Law thinks that it makes sense in this sort of tense situation.

There’s a beat of silence before Zoro and Sanji begin yelling at each other, exchanging heated curses and concerned looks. Zoro’s hair reverts to normal when he rounds Sanji up against a wall and Law slowly retreats into the shadows, only making out bits and pieces of the ensuing conversation – _“I can’t believe you acted like such a little bitch just because of this, you should’ve told us, you know us, we wouldn’t judge you, never.”_

It’s followed by a muffled thud and a lengthy silence of dubious origin, so Law bails, granting the two some privacy, already feeling a little off about witnessing this encounter.

* * *

 

He runs into Luffy almost immediately – more like, bodily crashes into him.

“There you are, Traffy!” Luffy exclaims, rubbing at his reddened nose. Law’s steadied him before the kid could bounce back and onto the cold ground. “Been looking everywhere for you! Thought you bailed on me or something.”

“I’m a man of my word,” Law replies, not bothering to explain himself. He’d rather not disclose Sanji’s private matters to the young champion – Sanji will have to do it himself at his own pace. “Had enough of dancing?”

“I’m beat,” Luffy sighs in confirmation, cracking his neck and then standing on his toes to stretch. “These shoes are killing me. Hammock wouldn’t let me go so I slipped away while she wasn’t looking!” he snickers, proud of himself, hands placed on hips. The intricate gold details of his robe catch the dimmed lights, shimmering. Law thinks that Luffy looks strangely ethereal and then feels an overwhelming urge to smack himself for thinking of Luffy as such.

“The opening ceremony is over. You can take them off?” Law offers, unsure if it’s proper etiquette to walk around shoeless during Yule but he finds that he cares about Luffy’s comfort more. “You’re the champion. No one’s gonna say a thing.”

“Yeah, you’re right!” Luffy hums after thinking it over. It’s a short process. “Gonna set the fad.”

He holds onto Law’s shoulder when he pulls the torturous heeled dance shoes away, wriggling his socked toes. “This is far better.”

Law desperately tries not to look down, Luffy’s fluffy strands no more than a few centimeters away from his nose. Absentmindedly, he notices that the kid smells… nice. He usually picks up hints of cheap soap and barbeque smoke in the kid’s scent, but today it’s overwhelmed by something minty and fresh. He wonders if one of the guys has forced him to wear cologne – there’s no other explanation for this change. Needless to say, Law isn’t complaining about it. 

Luffy’s grin is wide when he observes Law’s face, seemingly about to say something, but the moment stretches on and somehow it isn’t awkward or strange in any way. Law finds himself smiling down at the kid as well.

“What?” he asks, voice light. “Something on my face?”

“No, just,” Luffy begins and then stands on his tiptoes, picking at Law’s strands. “Your hair isn’t listening to you.”

Law checks his reflection in the wide mirror, a little embarrassed to find that it is indeed as Luffy says – his hairdo has fallen apart midway through. The longer strands located on his scalp are standing proud, untamed by any magical gels. Law pats them down, makes everything so much worse. He looks stupid.

Considers whipping out the wand to fix the damage but Luffy gently takes hold of his wandering hand and runs careful fingers through Law’s hair, tousling it back to its original state. Due to the “glue”, it looks even more wild than usual. 

Law curses himself out when he leans into Luffy’s gentle touch, ducking his head a little for the other to get a better access.

His fingers slide out of the sticky mess with a gentle caress making Law shiver. He doesn’t know what sort of expression he’s wearing, but at this point, he’s too scared to find out. “Keep it like that,” Luffy says quietly. There’s a strange glint in his eyes. “It fits you more. It’s more… Traffy-like,” he finishes lamely. Averts his gaze, pink dusting at his round cheeks.

Law’s left confused.

Is the kid feeling hot from all that dancing, or…?

“So, like, scary?” he tries to lighten the bizarre mood and magically succeeds his task, Luffy puffing out his cheeks at him in response.

“No! You’re not scary!” he reassures with a dignified huff. “Well, sometimes, but not right now. And I like it more!” he confesses loudly, attracting some stares from the lingering youth passing by.

Law glares the couples down and rolls his eyes at the kid, strangely endeared. “You could’ve just told me that you wanted me to let down my hair.”

“I can’t tell you what to do with your appearance though!”

“You seem to have no problem bossing me around without a single moment of hesitation. What’s so different in this scenario?”

“You,” Luffy says and then opens his mouth as if to add something, quickly reconsidering. He closes it and then reopens it again, and Law –

He’s damn entertained. It’s not every day you could render someone like Monkey D. Luffy speechless. With a smug grin he flutters his eyelashes, chirps a gross, “Me.”

Luffy looks ready to deck him, but then turns vacant-eyed afterwards, staring at Law and then over his shoulder. Some idea seems to be forming in his head, something troublesome and worthy of concern and Law’s wolfish grin gradually fades away. “What?” he questions, wary. “You’re not scheming to cause mayhem or something along those lines, right?”

Luffy blinks twice, suddenly pulled out of his muddled thoughts. “What? No? I mean, it’d definitely make this thing waaaaay better but I promised gramps and Shanks to be on my best behavior. Plus Ace was really looking forward to this so… I can’t do it,” he sounds honest to god _disappointed_ by that and Law thanks all higher forces above for Luffy’s innate ability to keep his promises.  “I’m thinking of getting something to eat, though, so you’re coming with me, Traffy!”

He tugs Law to the ballroom by their linked hands and when Law attempts to voice out his protests, Luffy brushes them off without sparing him a single glance, “You promised to be my date and that means spending time with me and keeping me company until I feel like leaving! And I don’t.”

“What if I want to take it back?” Law questions, glad that no one pays them attention. There are far too many… couples around, too busy wrapped up in each other to actually notice anything out of the ordinary.

Strangely enough, Luffy skids into a sudden halt, the socks making him slip awkwardly. Law steadies him with a single pull – Luffy weighs no more than three grapes. He holds himself up by clinging to Law’s black robe, eyes wide and clear of emotion when he asks “Do you really want to?”

Law blinks in surprise, taken aback by the change of heart. He didn’t expect Luffy to actually rat him out like this and straight up ask for his _real_ opinion on this arrangement. He knows that if he says no, there’s a big chance that Luffy will let go of him and let Law return to the common room and sulk for the rest of the night, toss and turn in his bed and mourn his loss.

That idea doesn’t seem too appealing and the party isn’t even halfway through.

Luffy patiently waits for his reply, slowly letting go of Law to put some distance between them and Law resents that, grabs the kid by the wrists to pull him in closer, gaze unwavering when he locks it with Luffy’s and says “No.”

The kid looks at him as though he’s the one who’s made artificial snow start falling from the ceiling and headbutts his shoulder, nuzzling into the fabric. Law tightens his hold and he doesn’t know what this means but he doesn’t want to let go either.

He never wants to let go.

Luffy mumbles something into his shoulder but Law doesn’t hear it and guides his date to the nearest unoccupied table. Even after they part, they always keep at least some form of physical contact – knees bumping, fingers touching. It’s a good reassurance if nothing else and Law enjoys the evening, chin placed in palm and eyes observing Luffy devour the amount of food that could easily feed a small army.

* * *

 

Yule ball requires dancing.

Law makes the ultimate sacrifice and retakes Luffy’s slim palm, letting himself get lost in the crowd, guided by the kid’s lean form. He looks small without his robe, “tie” undone and shoes left behind. People shoot questioning stares at Luffy’s socked feet when he _slides_ to the dancefloor, taking Law after himself.

A new band is coming upstage and Luffy cheers along with the rest, starry-eyed and red-cheeked. He tugs on Law’s robe to get his attention and leans in to yell into his ear – the noise has picked up to impossible levels, “This is the singer I told you about, Traffy!” Luffy chirps excitedly. “The Soul King!”

Law didn’t expect to be educated on wizard music that night but Luffy took it upon himself to describe the bands performing, apparently very knowledgeable on the topic due to his older brothers’ influence. This one is the brother trio’s favorite, and Law can actually see why – the guy coming on stage is no more than a skeleton, literally.

No one knows the origin story of Brook the Skeleton, but there are theories that he’s a pile of bones possessed by a spirit. Law’s just entranced by the eye-pleasing glamour and the tall skeleton’s professional showmanship, only ever cringing at the bad skull jokes – Luffy didn’t have a problem with those or so it seemed, thoroughly enjoying himself -  and when the guy starts playing, the crowd of rowdy teens goes fucking wild.

Luffy pulls Law close upon hearing the opening riffs of some fast-paced song of punk rock variety and that’s the end of that.

He’s subjected to forty minutes of movement and screaming.

Bartolomeo “bumps” into them on the second song and while he’s too flustered to say anything, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t notice Luffy’s shoeless state. Determined, the punk pulls off his own boots and sets the fad. More and more students begin noticing the champions and peel off their own shoes – the girls waste no time in throwing away their high heels.

Luffy demands the red-faced champion a high five, promptly making Bartolomeo weak in the knees. He looks at his palm as though it’s been blessed, cradling it close to his chest and Law puts his arm around Luffy’s waist just to be a shithead, shooting the green-haired kid a meaningful look. He doesn’t, however, expect this to last, but Luffy places a vice-like grip on his retreating hand and it stays there for the rest of the concert, warming the kid’s side.

Visibly disappointed, Bartolomeo disappears in the crowd.

* * *

 

“And then, oh my god, you should’ve seen his face,” Luffy squeezes out through the bout of cackles, holding onto his stomach. His shoes are held in his free hand and Law takes a stop on the staircase, snorting at the story himself. Apparently, Zoro pulled some entertaining shit with his powers just to freak out Sanji, Franky and Usopp on daily basis. Never on Chopper, though. The cute kid cannot handle creepy, zombie-like transformations. “It was hilarious!” he laughs and swats at his knee.

The dancing has left Luffy in a messy state, shirt untucked and dress pants rolled up, hair all over the place. He looks happy and flushed, grinning at Law.

Law smiles back, huffing a breath that could be considered a laugh. “I wish I was there to see it, then,” he nods and offers Luffy his hand again. The kid happily takes it, lacing their fingers together.

“I’m gonna walk you to your common room, Traffy,” Luffy decides once they reach the top of the staircase, overlooking at the thinning crowd below. It’s nearly midnight.

“That’s not necessary,” Law reassures, fidgeting with the hem of his robe.

“But that’s what good dates do!” Luffy whines, ignoring Law’s faint blush. It probably isn’t very apparent in the pale blue lights coming from the long icicles suspended above.

Law lifts his head to take them in one last time and then balks, swallowing down his budding nerves with quite some effort.

“Is everything cool?” Luffy wonders when he finally takes notice of Law’s strange expression and lack of replies. “…Traffy?”

His dark gaze follows the trajectory of Law’s and settles on… “Oh!” he exclaims giddily. “It’s the kissy plant!”

The thing he refers to as “kissy plant” is a goddamn _mistletoe_ wrapped up in silver ribbons, placed in woven pine branches, suspended right above their heads by some sort of levitation magic. Law really hoped that Luffy wouldn’t know about mistletoe and its purpose but the kid, as always, liked proving him wrong.

“Mistletoe,” Law corrects, eyes still fixed to it. His palms are starting to sweat. His collar feels too tight.

“M, that!” Luffy says. Law can see him in his periphery, swaying back and forth on shoeless feet, hands neatly clasped behind his back. “Missile toe.”

“Mistletoe.”

It’s… beyond awkward.

Luffy’s inquisitive “Traffy” attracts Law’s cool gaze, and he attempts to appear unaffected despite his flaming face and internal nervous breakdown.

Surprisingly, Luffy is fairing no better, but, unlike Trafalgar, he’s yet to master the poker face, his inner turmoil visible in the persistent twitch of his open mouth and the glossy-eyed stare. Law quickly rakes his brain for an appropriate sentence to distract the kid but then feels a reluctant tug on his sleeve and he swears to god that Luffy steps in closer and right as he does, moving to stand on his tiptoes, Law leaps backwards like some startled feline, grey-colored eyes blown wide, pupils dilated. Heart coughing and wheezing in his too tight chest.

Luffy looks surprised rather than disappointed, setting Law’s overworked mind and frayed nerves at ease. He can do this without feeling guilty – he’s absolutely _not_ guilty. Or regretful. Or upset and disappointed and – “I have to go,” Law squeaks, high-pitched. “I think the beer upset my stomach, uh. Badly?”

Luffy frowns then, probably smelling the obvious lie, but before he can protest, Law quickly takes off in the direction of his common room, sending Luffy a supposedly apologetic look before rounding the corner and disappearing out of the kid’s sight.

“Huh,” is all that Luffy says and his shoulders visibly slump when he approaches another flight of stairs, lazily dragging himself up, deflated.

“Damn it, what a stubborn brat,” says Corazon when the mistletoe flies back to his hands.

* * *

 

It gets a little strange afterwards.

The good thing about having a massive crush on Luffy is that if (by some one-in-a-million, highly unlikely chance) the kid notices it, he never asks questions nor does he try to confront Law in any way. Luffy probably doesn’t even _comprehend_ what had occurred in that hallway on that fateful night which earned Law three long days of restlessness and insomnia due to his mind working overtime. The latter hasn’t the slightest clue whether Luffy actually took notice of his red face and stuttering back then and he isn’t willing to bring it up by asking. It’s better to be safe than sorry and playing safe is all Law’s been doing for most of his shitty, elusive life.

Regardless, Luffy stops pursuing him. The two still meet in the ever-busy hallways and still talk and Law _still_ finds himself roped into stupid shit more often than not, but it’s just not the _same_. He’s not sure what’s so different. Perhaps nothing’s changed at  and this is mere paranoia talking, but Luffy seems far more… detached. As detached as a hyperactive sunshine incarnate can get. Law doesn’t ask anyone about it and tries to write it off as some tournament pressure. Now that Luffy has officially lost what little interest he held in him, Law spends far more time alone (usually cooped up in the library or drowning in his misery) or hanging out with Penguin and Shachi.

Robin seeks him out way less often as well, yet there’re no specific reasons behind it other than preparations for the final exams and eventual graduation. She does, however, seem to sense his nearly-tangible distress and continues to reassure and encourage him in her own, discreet way, using half-finished sentences holding complex meanings that Law is yet to comprehend or resolutely refuses to acknowledge.

Robin tells him to worry less and act more. If he’s worried about Luffy’s recent behavior, he shouldn’t stay silent.

Law does neither, not one to listen to solid advice either way.

Luffy caves in first when, right after dinner, he readily barrels into Law’s back to tell him that he’s finally figured out the hidden message of the golden egg. The stupid thing had screeched bloody murder when Luffy first opened it, making a first year Gryff faint in the process, startled by the sudden loud noise. Four days later, Luffy was banned from trying to open the egg at Gryffindor’s tower. He fussed and tried to argue, but even he couldn’t deny the fact that it was damn obnoxious.

Robin dedicated hours upon hours of her precious time to research in order to help the boy somehow, drawing blanks. There were no actual hints as to how to solve this riddle in particular. Law really hoped that the ominous high-pitched sound had nothing to do with _actual human screaming_ and then tried to flip over a few books as well, intent on helping Luffy survive the following task with his limbs intact.

“Please tell me that you properly solved that turd,” Law sighs in exasperation, the mere sight of the huge egg safely tucked into the crook of Luffy’s elbow making his eyebrow twitch. He feels like a damn loser, too incompetent and thus unworthy of cracking its hidden code. Luffy had dragged around the damn thing everywhere, murmuring to himself while trying to realize what it was that he was doing wrong to make it produce such atrocious noise. Nami told him that Luffy would often attempt to pacify it like the egg was some fussy toddler. She caught him cradling it plenty of times.

Law mentally tips his hat to Luffy’s seemingly infinite patience and realizes that if he were elected as Hogwarts’ champion, he never would’ve made it to the deadline – he would’ve chucked the egg right through the nearest window after no more than ten failed attempts. To be honest, he’s a little shocked to find that Luffy didn’t do the same.

Luffy fixes the egg and grins so brightly that Law feels as though he desperately needs sunglasses. The answer is an expectedly unexpected “Yup! I finally got it!”

Law tries to ignore the minor blow to his pride and nods, eager to know “how” but Luffy gets ahead of him, “Barto told me how to open it!”

_Ah._

“I’m pretty sure that’s cheating,” Law voices out with a shrug but it’s not like he actually _disapproves_ – at the rate Luffy was going, solving the riddle would’ve been no more than a pipe dream. It was good that he had the other champion wrapped around his little finger – at least he proved himself useful. Not that Luffy would ever use others in the ways Law guiltlessly would.

“Nah, it’s fair! It doesn’t say anywhere that we can’t get outside help. Plus Cabbage cracked his open only because Beauxbatons’ headmaster told him how.”

“Seriously?” Ok, now _that_ is cheating. If Luffy told on the guy and actually had a good, convincing way to prove it, he’d be one opponent down.  It’d raise his chances to win this damn tourney, but Luffy only grins and snorts out a laugh.

“Dunno! It’s what Birdy told me anyways,” it takes Law a long moment to realize that the one the kid refers to as “birdy” is Bartolomeo. He can kinda see the resemblance too – Durmstrang’s champion’s hair always looked like it was about to take flight at the most unexpected moment. “For all I know, he could’ve been lying. He doesn’t seem to like Cabbage a whole lot.”

Law rolls his eyes – an understatement. Bartolomeo and Cavendish didn’t get along, constantly yelling insults at each other whenever they passed by. It seemed like a basic school-based rivalry and no more. He also knows that by now, Bartolomeo would’ve readily told on Beauxbatons’ champion if this statement was even remotely true.

“So what’s inside?” Law questions with barely masked eagerness and it seems to snap Luffy out of his thoughts.

“Oh, right!” he exclaims and shoves the massive golden egg into Law’s face – it’s wrapped up in Luffy’s knit house scarf. “Eggy doesn’t try to yell at me when I open it under the water.”

“You named it Eggy?”

Luffy ignores it, eyes shining and grin widening when he turns the screeching beast over. Law’s had literal nightmares about it before – not as fun as it sounds, really. Most of them starred Luffy, desperately screaming in terror right before he got maimed by some ferocious beast.

“Apparently I had to listen underwater because our next task is going to have sirens in it. The ones living in the lake. Well, it’s what Birdy thinks. Do you think that sirens talk in screams? That’s so weird! Do they sound different underneath the surface? But the sirens in Prefect bathroom sing in human language!”

Law gapes at the egg, eyebrows pinched. So the second task is going to involve going underwater, huh. Not _completely_ unexpected, though he cannot begin to imagine what sort of creatures lurk inside the lake. Based on Corazon’s stories, Law figures that there must be a lot of them – there’re actual civilizations submerged there with their own laws and ecosystems. More than half are known to be dangerous, though, especially the ones residing in the deepest parts of the lake. Corazon would often scare him with forged stories of ferocious lake creatures dragging in bad, misbehaving kids threading the shallow waters to make Law keep a safe distance from it, serving as a reminder that he should never go too deep whenever he’d decide to dip his legs in order to cool off during the hotter spring days.

Needless to say, the scare tactic had worked. Up to this day, Law isn’t too eager to encounter any of the rumored tentacled, octopi-like beasts.

He simply cannot visualize Luffy getting _in there_ and making it to the surface completely unscathed.

“They’re going to take away something important from us,” the aforementioned boy tells him, humming thoughtfully. “If we don’t take it back on time, it will be lost forever. They’re certainly not going to take away my hat,” Luffy says determinedly, patting at the straw hat perching on his head.

“Better keep a close eye on it or merpeople will come and steal it while you sleep.”

Luffy blinks and then laughs in a boisterous way, taking notice of Law’s forced serious façade. “Traffy, merpeople don’t have legs. They’re not going to magically appear at the tower? …Wait, they _can’t_ do that, right?”

“How are you still a student here?” Law eyerolls and pushes the tip of Luffy’s hat to cover his dark eyes. The kid still seems a little confused, so to reassure him, he adds, “No, they can’t do that. Unless they’re some advanced fishmen of which we’ve never heard. Besides, how are you planning on staying underwater for a longer time? You should start thinking of a way – there’re less than two weeks left till the second task. And don’t tell me that you’re going to hold your breath for a while or something like it.”

Judging by the small pout, he figures that Luffy was about to say just that. Law heaves a prolonged sigh and waits for a reply, ready to be disappointed – Luffy will most likely have to cram even more spells and if the planets align properly and the goddess of victory smiles just right, then perhaps Luffy will actually show up to the task with a proper defense this time around.

The kid grins at him, hands on hips, disgusting egg shoved back into the armpit and then tells Law “I’ve this covered. I’m gonna turn into a shark, fight merpeople, take back my hat and then get the first place.”

Law is forced to do a double take, jaw dropping just a little. “Shark. You’re going to transform into a _shark._ ”

“Yeah? Sharks can breathe underwater, right? So there’s no problem. I’m gonna use transfig, turn into one and swim really fast to the objective,” Luffy reassures, feigns diving, swimming, and then taps his free hand against his lean bicep. “I’m just sad that I can’t punch anyone while I’m a shark – they’d deserve a few love taps on the nose for taking my stuff without permission.”

Law exhales – not a sigh, but the emotion that he currently feels is roughly the same as the one he’d suspected. This one is way more resigned though. “I’m not saying that there are flaws in this, actually – it’s pretty solid. For you, at least,” Luffy huffs out an offended “hey!”, but _hey_ , it’s not like Law is lying. The kid is going to pull through with his impressive Transfiguration spells. “But it works. Though I’m uncertain as to how you’re going to hold your wand if you need to defend yourself. In your fin? Wrap it around with a string?” he questions jokingly.

“Now that you mention it,” the kid seems to consider it, lost deep in thought. He looks at his reddened toes and wiggles them as if hoping to get some answers. “Can’t use spells, can’t use violence… huh, guess I’ll have to turn into an octopus. Or half-shark. Like maybe just the head? It would be so cool. I bet it’d look funny too,” he goes off and Law feels dumber by the second.

He is forced to interject mid one-sided conversation, “Luffy.”

“Hm?”

“Stop talking.”

* * *

 

On the day of the second task, it unexpectedly snows. Law and the majority of the students collectively shiver when they catch sight of the black, nearly iced-over lake looming in the distance and slowly fill up the tall stands, the colors of their banners looking rather bleak due to the surrounding gray and white hues. The water seems mysterious and unappealing. Deceptively calm. Law knows this for a fact – it is, first and foremost, dangerous.

He hears countless students exchanging theories and questions regarding the task, some more ridiculous than the rest, but the content is roughly the same – dive in, get the treasure, first one to break the surface gets the first place.

Everyone seems to fail to point out the fact that the water’s temperature must be tragically cold and that if they were stuck in the champions’ position, none would get excited over the idea of this supposed “treasure”. To Law, this sort of task would be a death sentence – he never liked the coldness of this lake.

It reminds him of the winters back in Flevance.

He has hope that Luffy will overcome the stinging chill and push onward, his transfiguration spell nearly perfect. Law and the rest had forced him into practicing it regardless, to the point the kid got sleep deprived and arrived to class with fins instead of hands.

It was better to be prepared.

Law involuntarily shivers when he catches sight of Bartolomeo – the guy isn’t hard to spot even in the mish-mashed crowd of various students – and sees what the other’s wearing. It’s some sort of skin-tight, blood-red bodysuit with Durmstrang’s crest imprinted on the back. His feet are bare and he idly continues stretching on the designated platform, waving at his friends – a bunch of rowdy Durmstrang boys calling themselves members of the Barto club. Now that they’ve been acknowledged, the teens eagerly wave their school’s banners and start some sort of step-step-clap rhythm to cheer on their champion. Law recognizes the chopped tune to be Durmstrang’s hymn.

Cavendish enters the scene to hog the attention for himself, getting heated booing from the Barto club and positive reactions from the rest of the students. He, like Bartolomeo, is dressed in the same type of uniform, except his is a pale blue with Beauxbatons Pegasus stamped on the back. He then proceeds to bicker with his rival and Law loses interest, looks around a little nervously.

Luffy is late.

He notices Shanks worriedly checking his wristwatch, Newgate’s pursed lips, and to his left, Law finally sees Sabo. The kid looks thrice as worried than everyone combined, craning his neck to all sides, searching the crowd.

“Where’s Luffy?” he asks, loudly enough for Law to hear. “The task is about to start. And where is Ace? He was supposed to be here.”

Sabo’s short friend puts a calming hand on her best friend’s tense bicep, but she seems a little concerned herself despite trying to sound soothing. “I’m sure Luffy just slept in or something, he’ll show. As for Ace, perhaps he had to use the restroom? You know how worrying keeps him up at night.”

“But he still could’ve found me first!” Sabo voices out his protest, eyebrows drawn together. If Law looks carefully enough, he can see deep shadows underlining the blond’s eyes. He looks a little pale too. “I haven’t seen him since last night…”

“I’m sure he – ” the girl starts and then points at the distant figure dashing towards the wooden platform, “And there’s Luffy! I told you he’d show.”

Luffy peels off his black school uniform and judging by Shanks’ baffled reaction, Law can safely assume that the kid has indeed slept in or hasn’t taken notice of time. The head of the house cuffs the tardy champion on the back of the head and gives the announcer a thumbs up. Law drowns out the obnoxious, booming voice, eyes glued to the kid’s thin frame clad in bright red and gold, still desperately trying to catch a breath. Bartolomeo cautiously approaches to check on him, a worried hand hovering over the kid’s hunched up back, but Luffy only waves him off with a strained smile. He looks a little nervous, but it’s pretty clear that he’s looking forward to it.

The time limit that they are given is an hour long and will cost them plenty of points if they fail to pay attention to it – Luffy bashfully runs a palm over his bicep at that. Without any further ado, the gold sparks go off and the champions dive into the freezing depths, wands at ready.

The last thing that Law sees right before Luffy disappears completely is an unmistakable fin breaching the surface.

* * *

 

It’s so cold that it feels as though his skin has been set on fire and then slashed at by multiple knives.

Luffy’s fast – he picks up the ominous song from the golden egg at least twenty minutes into the task and so far he’s yet to encounter any hostile creatures. He sees Cabbage’s golden locks through the luscious, swaying curtains of various lake plants and feels eyes watching his every movement, yet no one approaches, mermaid or not.

He tries to fight back the urge to explore the wonderful depths – it’s kinda funny how deep the champions are and how bright it is despite that, as though someone’s built the uneven lake bed of shiny rocks. Luffy’s yet to reach its lowest level so he cannot confirm that hypothesis in particular.

The leafy plants feel weird against his skin when he skillfully swims by them, following the song. It seems to be echoing from everywhere and it’s nearly impossible to pinpoint the direction when he’s lost in unknown territory. Underwater no less, where the sound carries however the hell.

He noses aside some purple-hued plants and is met by a creature with ruby, shining eyes. Luffy wastes no time in undoing the transformation on his right arm, wand out.

The beast opens its giant maw and lunges for his throat, twisting and turning like some white, slick eel. Luffy figures that it probably is one, except that eels usually weren’t eight meters long and at least a meter in width.

He gets stalled.

* * *

 

“What do you want from me!? Get lost!” he screams but it comes out as a bunch of bubbles from his jaws filled with razor-like teeth. He finds his goal fifteen minutes before the deadline – an ancient submerged city. The lake snakes leave him alone upon entry and Luffy glares at the not-quite humans hiding further away. None seem to want to attack despite the intricate weaponry held in their hands. Luffy quickly swims towards the center of the city, kicking his very much human legs – there’s only so long that he can hold up this advanced transformation. He’s tired and in a rush, hoping that Cabbage and Birdy are stuck battling lake seafood as well.

He follows the reappearing and disappearing sirens to the underwater city square and balks at the sight that greets him, nearly losing control of his spell.

There, tied to a crudely-carved statue made of stone, is Ace.

His school uniform billows in the slight current, skin ghostly-pale, and his curtain of thick hair sways in front of his closed eyes. He appears to be asleep but to Luffy he looks… dead.

There are no bubbles of air coming out of his mouth and in blind desperation, Luffy swims closer to his tied up brother. He undoes the transformation on both of his hands and runs his fingers over Ace’s cold skin, checks for signs of life.

Finds none.

Panic seeps into the very marrow of Luffy’s bones and he would scream if he had the proper vocal chords to. Desperately, he grabs at the older boy’s white shirt, feeling around his chest. He thinks that he feels _something_ there but that might as well be a figment of his imagination – his own heartbeat going insane from fright.

Luffy draws the wand, eyes wild, grip on the transformation slipping with every desperate lungful of water.

“You won’t get away with this!” he mutely yells in anger, eyes welling up with tears, hand shaking.

The merpeople attack once they see the drawn wand.

* * *

 

Luffy wreaks havoc everywhere he goes and this is no different. He peels off a clam to set his brother’s legs free, cutting his own fingers in the process. The sight of Ace floating upwards rather than sinking immediately makes Luffy cry out in relief and the measly remains of his transformation dissipate, leaving him painfully human with water slowly filling his oxygen-deprived lungs. He _doesn’t care_ for any of that, mentally counting down the seconds he wastes with every desperate kick of his aching legs – if he isn’t brought back to the surface on time, Ace will die for good. It was all in the song. At this point, Luffy couldn’t care less what happens to him, all he sees is his brother’s ghost-like presence, carried by the current.

The more he struggles to get to him, the more he feels himself pulled under and he doesn’t even notice that the sirens have stopped trying to bring him down, watching his struggle with life and death with cold, unfeeling stares. Luffy reaches out to catch Ace’s limp wrist, its skin almost rubber-like in texture and he nearly blacks out right then and there, tears mixing with the water.

There’s no time.

Through Ace’s curly strands covering his field of vision, Luffy notices those incoming snakes enticed by the scent of blood, ready to tear them to shreds – they’re no more than a threat to these beasts now, a fallen champion unprotected by the laws and mutual agreements, sinking alongside his treasure.

A plan forms in Luffy’s fading mind as he wraps an arm around Ace’s torso, waiting for the eels to come close, wand at ready and Law’s spells sitting on the tip of his tongue. He has only one shot at this but he’d rather die here than watch his brother slip away in his arms. He’d gladly and willingly give his life for Ace’s.

The spell blinds the eel in one eye and while it screeches and struggles, Luffy digs his fingers in the gaps between its slimy blade-like scales and he shoots the first spell that comes to his mind – a heat spell – at its ribbon-like tail. The eel takes off at an impressive speed with Luffy having to guide its pattern in the right direction via bursts of boiling water.

When the last one fails and the daylight shines just above, the surface rippling, Luffy screams the name of the spell out into the nothingness, choking on the water, mind going numb.

He’s drowning.

Through bleary vision he watches Ace’s lifeless body gravitating towards the surface, grateful that he has at least managed to save his sibling with a few seconds left to spare.

He lets go of the eel and sinks, further and further away from the Ace, light, life.

* * *

 

Waking up to ice cold water and chilly winter air is unpleasant to say the least. Ace coughs out a handful of moisture, eyes tender and stinging, and he takes in his surroundings, the overflowing stands filled with countless cheering people, various melodies of different houses ringing in his ears.

He feels the insane cold permeate his heart, encasing it in a thick layer of ice when he gradually notices that Luffy is nowhere to be seen.

He hears the announcer proclaim his last name and with a deep inhale, he dives back into the water, eyes wide in fright, scanning the dark depths.

* * *

 

Luffy comes to it only after Ace drags him all the way to the shore, his mind buzzing and body shivering. He vomits the water back to where it belongs while Ace rubs his back, palm warm and alive.

“I got you, buddy,” he repeats like a mantra, voice strained. “It’s over now, you’re okay.”

Luffy notices that it’s gotten really damn quiet. Thinks whether he’s dead and this is actually afterlife. Finds that he doesn’t even care and weakly throws himself at Ace, face buried in the sopping wet robe.

“I thought you were gone! I thought you died!” he screams out, breathing ragged and face aflame from the stinging chill and the tears. He’s still gasping for oxygen but he doesn’t care – Ace is there and he is undeniably alive. “I thought they took you away!”

Pitying murmurs cloak the shivering pair but no one dares to approach with blankets and warm drinks, too afraid to interrupt the emotional family moment.

Luffy straight up bawls his eyes out, snot clogging his nose and doing nothing to help his breathing and Ace gently runs his hands over his wet, frosting strands, over his cheeks and under his eyelids. Luffy desperately leans into the touch and Ace nearly feels like crying too, feels like hell for causing the other such distress.

Luffy won’t let go of him, sliced up fingers nearly ripping at his clothes so he leans in to whisper against the sobbing kid’s forehead, “It’s alright, Lu. I’m fine. You’re fine. I wouldn’t have died. Did you take the stupid song seriously?”

His response is a few hacking breaths and Luffy whimpers, finds Ace’s heartbeat thudding against his ribcage, lightning-fast. Tears of relief roll down his cheeks.

“It was just some water, Luffy… just some stupid water.”

The kid curls into him and doesn’t let go even when the staff covers them in heat-radiating wool blankets.

* * *

 

Law feels as though he’s intruding on something important just by witnessing this touching scene between the D. brothers. Sabo nearly barrels past people when they wrap his wet siblings in a pile of blankets, ready to console and be there for them. His friend Koala looks extremely touched by the display, a gloved hand covering her mouth.

When Luffy didn’t surface, Law thought that he’d stopped breathing. That his heart stopped.

That he sank along with the kid.

Those were the most intense seconds in his life and he figures that if he keeps going on this track, the sobbing kid will send him to his early grave, Donquixotes unneeded.

He idly watches Luffy touch Portgas everywhere that he can reach, hands gravitating towards his dark hair and the hollows of the neck, checking for the pulse line, for signs of life. Law doesn’t know what had occurred there, hates not knowing it, but figures that it must’ve been nothing short of intense to shake Luffy like this. It must’ve been bad, finding out that the “stolen treasure” was not something material but your sibling. Your precious family member.

Law would’ve reacted the same way if they decided to take away Corazon.

Luffy looks at Ace as though he means the world to him and it makes Law feel a certain kind of way. He’s seen that look directed at Zoro and the rest, on more than one occasion. He’s seen it directed at Shanks.

He’s never felt that look on himself though. Luffy always looked at him _different_ and before Law could properly analyze it, he’d turn away or start yet another meaningless conversation.

Perhaps Luffy doesn’t see him like that.

The touching display of mutual love and care makes him twitchy so Law lowers the fluffy hat over his eyes, chest squeezing in a painful, uncomfortable way. He’s just glad that Luffy is safe, despite him getting the last place in the lineup, Bartolomeo reigning supreme for rescuing his aged mother in record time, prioritizing her safety first and foremost. Cavendish still has his nose buried in the golden locks of a young boy who looks just like him, eyes red from crying – he, like Luffy, has taken the siren’s song extremely seriously.

The fishmen – or so this race in particular is called – finish telling Newgate and the rest the story of what had occurred underwater and it clearly doesn’t work in Luffy’s favor – Beauxbatons headmaster deducts even more points.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some art for the fic:  
> by my wife: http://yotrashkid.tumblr.com/post/165238417546/as-always-shieru-is-shitting-out-fics-and-i  
> http://yotrashkid.tumblr.com/post/165611606711/when-yaboybokuto-asks-to-me-to-post-shit-and-i  
> and some concept doodles from urs truly: http://yaboybokuto.tumblr.com/post/165021458003/blegh-writing-a-thing-have-some-doodles  
> http://yaboybokuto.tumblr.com/post/165594450228/shit-for-rite-of-passage-damn-some-of-these-are


	6. Chapter 6

Luffy decks the first person who has it in them to complain about his complete failure during the second task. He gets off with a lecture about this behavior being unbefitting of a champion and a Hogwarts representative. Right before leaving the office, Luffy still manages to make himself pretty clear – he will not tolerate anyone badmouthing Ace by calling him an obstacle.

Law glares at the third year brats whispering among themselves and pointing Luffy’s way, hears Portgas’ name being thrown around like a hot potato but once he takes out his wand, the startled tweens zip it.

Law looks away, satisfied and watches Luffy’s back as he plays some wizard game with Chopper and Usopp and then turns to Roronoa to tell him, “Better stop trying to hold “the cook’s” hand underneath the table before everyone sees.”

Zoro gags at being exposed like this, hair turning a darker shade of green to match his rosy cheeks, “Don’t point it out like some dick and maybe no one will.”

Law casually points at the short strands, “I saw that.”

Zoro tells him to shut the fuck up. Robin laughs into her fist, supposedly discreet.

Without looking up from the complicated game – that he’s clearly losing – Luffy casually drops _the request_ , “Traffy, teach me how to summon a patronus before the third task? I’ve been practicing it and I can’t seem to get a hang of it.”

“You’ve been practicing patronus spells?” Usopp asks in wonder and then wins the game in one move, making Chopper throw his arms up in the air and call cheating. The former glares at such an accusation – he’s the self-proclaimed king of “Sniper beans” – turning back to Luffy who seems too tense for his own good for reasons unknown. Law figures that he’s waiting for either approval or rejection. “And you didn’t tell us?”

“Didn’t show much progress.”

“When did you start?” Zoro asks and yawns, already curled up in his “about to nap” pose.

Luffy seems to think about it, counting down the days. “Hmm, Uncle Rayleigh said that it’d be a useful skill to add to my… my… ar…”

“Arsenal,” Law supplies, thinking of taking a short break as well. He’s been slaving over Transfiguration homework for hours now – he doesn’t know why Ace thinks that Professor Marco is even remotely cool. The man’s a goddamn menace, the bane of every student’s existence, when it comes to essays.

“He used really big words for this, dunno why. Anyways he’s been teaching me how to do it. Even brought a Boggart sealed in a suitcase for me to practice on.”

“Why a Boggart?” Usopp asks with a confused frown. Zoro seems to be the only one filled in on the situation. Law lifts his gaze, curious.

“Because it transforms into a Dementor whenever I’m nearby,” Luffy shudders at the mere thought of it. “I’m not as scared of them as I used to be, but they still creep me out the most. Dadan had to be imprisoned for a few weeks after some incident back at Foosha. They had to file out the papers and get testimonies so they kept a close eye on her. There were two Dementors guarding the area. One of the higher-commanding officers brought me to visit her even if Dadan didn’t agree to it since she didn’t want me anywhere near those beings. I was staying with Makino in the city, waiting for the end of the trial while Ace was taken in by Shanks.“

Law stiffens up, fingers tightening around the quill. Boggarts aren’t scary, not anymore at least – they’re no more than cheap copies that often fail to convincingly reenact the most important factor of your hidden fear. Back when Law was a kid growing up in Mariejois, Doflamingo took great pleasure in leaving him in an abandoned storage room with one. It’d creep out of the locked up ancient closet as Law would press himself to the wall, close his eyes, and convince himself that it wasn’t real, that Corazon was _alive_ and safe somewhere in the mansion. That he wasn’t truly standing before Law with lifeless eyes and lacerations bleeding gore from various places located on his broken body. The Boggart would just stand before Law and wordlessly stare, getting into the role of his dead guardian.

It’s Corazon who teaches him the spell required to make the lecherous creatures disappear.

“Oh…” Usopp trails off, shuddering. Law can relate. “Never actually encountered Dementors and I sure am glad that I didn’t get to. Dad told me that he’s seen some around at the Ministry, in its lowest levels mostly.”

Luffy looks up, serious, mouth pulled into a thin line. “Good. Make sure you never do. Those things will suck the happiness right out of you,” he touches at his chest area, kneading at the maroon sweater. “It was the worst experience ever.”

Law’s pretty certain that Luffy’s encountered far more disturbing things in the short span of his life, but he isn’t about to point them out. Law hasn’t had “the honors” of meeting those creepy Dementors himself, so really, he can’t begin to imagine how bad that experience in particular must’ve been. He thinks that if he were a prisoner in Azkaban, he’d make the faceless creatures starve – he didn’t harbor a lot of good… feelings or emotions. Perhaps he’d leave there with his sanity still intact.

He clears his throat, “So you think that there’ll be Dementors involved in the final task?”

Luffy shrugs, “No idea. Rayleigh told me to expect right about anything and since he mentioned this spell in particular I figured that he knows something that I don’t. They weren’t very specific about the beasts we’re going to encounter. Besides, it seems like a very strong, useful spell. I wanna learn it regardless.”

Law thinks it over. He actually _could_ try and teach Luffy that – especially now that the kid has shown genuine interest in it thus he won’t dick around with unnecessary things – but he’s risking exposure. Law’s patronus is still shaped like an energetic Capuchin monkey, a fact that embarrasses him greatly whenever he’s alone in the common room and summons it just for the sake of observation. It leaps around and usually settles down on his extended forearm, blinking innocently as if waiting for commands. Law would silently stare at it and continuously ask himself _why_ until it’d disappear in wisps of pale blue smoke.

His budding feelings are going to suffocate him one of these days.

Zoro tells Luffy to not bother Law for meaningless things that the latter can easily learn himself  – Roronoa considers the _Expecto Patronum_ spell rather easy, having succeeded in summoning a patronus in no more than five tries. It’s a powerful thing, a tiger twice the size of its owner. When he’d first showed it to Law, he felt a gnawing sense of jealousy, but Zoro tactfully didn’t ask for a demonstration in exchange despite how much Luffy was begging. Ace and Sabo took it upon themselves to distract their fussy younger brother by summoning their own spiritual guardians – Ace’s was a sturdy mountain ram whereas Sabo’s was an overgrown salamander.

“I can only summon some poofy clouds!” Luffy voices out his protest, turning in the chair. “It’s progress, but it’s not enough, not by a longshot. I want Traffy to tell me what I’m doing wrong.”

“Is this an excuse to see my patronus?” Law questions, cautious.

Luffy seems honest enough when he fervently shakes his head “no”, “I promise that it has nothing to do with that. I just want to become stronger. The strongest! And I want to win this thing,” he exclaims passionately, getting some encouraging cheers from his friends. “I want to earn back my lost points at least.”

And who is Law to say no to that. “Very well,” he nods, stretching out the kinks plaguing his stiff back, “Meet me outside tonight. I’ve some unfinished star charts to attend to and you can show me what you’ve got so far.”

Luffy nearly falls off his chair in his haste to get to the tired teen, arms spread open and ready to hug it out, “You’re the absolute best, Traffy! I won’t disappoint you.”

He receives a book to the face in return, Trafalgar’s cheeks going up in flames.

* * *

 

The night is pleasantly chilly.

Law attends to the parchment rolls spread out on the stone bench and his lap, squinting to make out the ink lines more clearly. They’re situated further away from the castle and Law has taken it upon himself to conjure a small flame for lighting, sealing it in a light green glass orb – part of his Christmas present that he got from Corazon. It lets him see his “workplace” and the stars without aggravating his sensitive eyes as well as keep tabs on Luffy standing further away, wand producing vague, unrecognizable shapes.

He’s getting progressively annoyed if the faint displeased noises are anything to judge by, so Law sets aside the half-finished star chart to dry and tries to make out Luffy’s face in the cloaking darkness of the relatively silent night, failing in his task. The wand farts out another blueish cloud. “I think you’re switching up your memories too fast,” he states after assessing the situation. “None of them are solid enough to invoke your patronus either. What are you thinking about?”

For a second there, he doesn’t think that Luffy will actually answer because this is a very personal thing to ask, but the younger kid lowers the wand, turning in Law’s direction. “Right now I’m thinking about the best steak I’ve had in my entire life.”

Law stares into the dark, dumbfounded.

“Look, it was a really good steak. You don’t understand, Traffy.”

“Uh…huh…” he trails off, expression still pinched. “Not the best kind of memory, that’s for sure.”

“Well it is to me!” Luffy huffs, crossing his arms. The action makes the patronus cloud disappear and the kid’s lean shape blend into the dark of the night completely. He wastes no time in walking close to the stone bench, plopping down on its uncovered side, right next to Law. The latter tenses but Luffy seemingly doesn’t notice, looking up at the stars while kicking his legs instead. “I’ve no idea what to choose. I’ve a lot of fond memories about a lot of different things.”

“Unlike me,” Law says silently to no one in particular but Luffy overhears it, head snapping in his companion’s direction, gaze disgustingly worried. It makes Law duck his head even lower, exhaling mutely.

Luffy doesn’t let it go no matter how much Law wishes that he would. He can nearly feel Luffy’s stare on his prickling skin. “Traffy.”

Law doesn’t look up nor does he indicate that he’s listening, shoulders dropping from the sheer intensity radiated by the other.

It feels as though Luffy is about to say something life-changing and positively ground-shattering but it never comes. It’s like the younger boy doesn’t truly know how to properly voice out his overworked thoughts, mind buzzing. He takes a moment to gather himself and ends up asking something else entirely, “What should I think about then?”

The lack of culmination makes Law equal parts relieved and oddly disappointed. He tries to fight off an involuntary shudder as he looks at the green orb, thinking. “Try a person. Think about your family and friends. I heard that these memories summon the strongest of patronuses,” he trails off, picking at the scabbed-over injury on his thumb. He’s dead set on making it bleed.

Luffy hums, eyes focused on the wand. Remembering. “I tried those before. Some worked better than the others but they weren’t good enough for this,” he points the wand at nowhere in particular for emphasis. Law listens. “What about you? What worked for you?”

Luffy is clearly asking for more information regarding his “nonexistent” good memories and Law wants to remain quiet out of spite but he’s agreed to this whole teaching thing so withholding important information isn’t going to help his student out. “Cora,” he says simply, after a lot of thinking. Not quite, but it plays a huge part in making him concentrate so it isn’t as though he’s lying or anything. “The day we moved to Dressrosa.”

The kid seems confused by it. Law belatedly realizes that he’s slipped up and called his benefactor by his undercover name. He would do that a lot back in the day but this is perhaps the first time he’s done it in front of Luffy. “Oh, Corazon!” Luffy exclaims, to Law’s surprise. “I see.”

“How do you know the full… name?”

“You slipped up once or twice,” he says casually. “So I remember. It means “heart”, right? It’s a nice nickname to have.”

Law doesn’t really know how to reply to that and chooses to remain silent. The silence lapses, only a little uncomfortable.

“I think I got it,” Luffy tells him after at least a few minutes of turning over various memories stored and sorted in his mind now that he knew which ones he should look for. He appears to be pretty damn excited as well, wand already squeezed in one hand, and Law really wants the spell to work out – the kid deserves this much for not losing hope. “This time, it’s going to come out! For sure.”

“Don’t get too eager,” Law tells him in his best professional guide voice. “Concentrate, otherwise your memory won’t help you out much.”

“Just gotta believe everything’s gonna work out, Traffy, don’t be such a stick in the mud,” Luffy waves him off, gaze set ahead and grin wide. He still bumps a bony shoulder against Law’s, bouncing in his seat like some toddler who’s been promised a treat.

“Show me, then,” Law says, a little giddy himself, observing Luffy’s gleeful expression.

After hearing that request, the latter calms down, closes his eyes and inhales, murmuring something inaudible. Law patiently waits for him to finish his mental exercise or whatever the hell and watches the end of Luffy’s long wand light up white and blue as the kid calls out the name of the spell, the name of his patronus.

It looks like another failure but Luffy refuses to lower the wand, eyebrows scrunched up in effort. The light is stronger than anything he’s summoned before though, the magic undeniably alive and pulsing. Law wants to tell him to call it quits, writing the cloud of smoke off as nothing but then it slowly starts to conjure up a faint outline of some sort of creature.

He feels Luffy’s hand patting around the cold stone, in search of something, finally settling on Law’s fingertips. Without looking away from the patronus, Luffy squeezes at the slack fingers, suddenly energized by the small, seemingly insignificant action.

Law doesn’t outwardly react to it, moving his palm to rest in the kid’s hand, leaning forward alongside Luffy to make out the rippling shape of the patronus.

“What is it?” Luffy whispers to himself, raising his wand a little to get a better look at the fading creature.

It swims out of the faint cloud of blue and closer to its owner, almost eager to meet him. Luffy’s jaw drops, eyes going wide when he takes notice of its peculiar shape.

The creature then circles around Law’s head, as if trying to sense malice. Its smooth belly brushes the tips of Law’s black, disheveled strands right before disappearing.

“A seal.”

The simple word makes Law snap out of his reverie, face paling when he turns to face Luffy who looks at him as though he’s having a hard time believing that any of this is real. That his guardian is a goddamn _spotted baby seal_ yet to change into something menacing – just like Law’s _energetic Capuchin monkey._

Law wishes for the ground to open up and swallow him whole right then and there. Perhaps then he wouldn’t be exposed to Luffy’s inquisitive stare drilling holes into his flushed face.

He’s waiting for something, anything, but nothing comes. It’s almost as though Luffy decides to play the part of the blissfully oblivious fool by exclaiming a victorious cheer and following it up with an ecstatic “Did you see that, Traffy!? I did it! I finally did it! I have to try again, perhaps it’ll be even brighter this time around!”

He feels damn exposed and embarrassed that Luffy was completely alright with baring himself like this in front of Law of all the people. He doesn’t dare to ask whom he’s been thinking about when he summoned the creature, cast the spell.

The _answer_ to those unvoiced questions sits right before him after Luffy raises the wand yet again and he nearly melts into Law’s right side, fingers blindly seeking out his warm hand once more. The kid grins at him, cheeks visibly flushed. Law feels an uncomfortable hitch beneath his eyelids as though he’s about to cry tears of joy or something. The feeling in his chest unravels and fills him with warmth that slowly moves to join the one spreading out over his right arm, making Law considerably dizzy.

Mindlessly, Law slips his own wand into his left hand and easily summons his monkey patronus, watches it curiously inspect its new friend. Nothing short of mesmerized, Luffy nudges at his shoulder with a too-warm cheek upon witnessing the adorable display, resting his head on Law’s shoulder, messy hair tickling the older boy’s jaw. The action makes Law hold on even tighter, Luffy’s slim fingers twitching against his own.

They return to school loosely holding hands, Law reluctantly letting go once they’re inside. Luffy doesn’t seem to mind it much, sending his friend a soft smile before they part ways.

* * *

 

That night, Law realizes that he doesn’t have a mere silly crush on Luffy, _oh no._

He’s in _love_.

And whether Luffy’s fully aware of it or not, he loves Law as well. Perhaps not in the way he’d like him to, but he isn’t complaining, Luffy’s warmth still lingering in his right side.

* * *

 

Time seems to gallop at impossible speeds afterwards.

The third task is a whirlwind of dangerous encounters with various magical beasts, none of which consist of Dementors, thank fucking god. Luffy tears through the impossibly high maze with the speed and agility of an antelope, using his fists, physical strength and sheer willpower to pass through the obstacles. Law observes the giant map suspended above the audience to show the champions’ journey to the three magical objects positioned in various parts of the kilometers-long maze which will help them get to their goal without much effort exerted. The announcer’s voice informs the buzzing crowd that Luffy has busted through the thorny hedge to escape a swarm of dragon-like beasts and was on the right path to reaching the finish line, the ultimate goal – the tournament cup.

It makes Hogwarts’ students roar their appreciation, beyond excited now that their brave champion has pulled ahead of the Durmstrang’s representative who was stalled by six acromantulas, his path to the cup blocked.

Law doesn’t bother to check up on Cavendish who, with some difficulty, heads in the direction of the first magical object to give him the strength required to reach the cup and destroys the urge to smash his head against the nearest hard, flat surface when Luffy stops right in front of the goddamn cup because Bartolomeo experiences some _difficulties_ – the man-eating plants growing on the sides of the luscious hedges wrap their tendrils around his calves and drag the punk in the direction of the remaining two overgrown spiders that he’s failed to dispose of. The announcer tells the crowd that Bartolomeo has dropped his wand in his struggle to escape and of course, leave it to Luffy to barrel straight into danger’s way to rescue a fellow comrade.

The announcer flaps his mouth, a thousand and one words spilling out of his mouth as he narrates Luffy’s attempts to disintegrate the prying thorny vines and various sticky tendrils and in the midst of all that chaos, Cavendish reaches his objective by solving some stupid fucking riddles.

The announcer informs them that Cavendish has obtained a Pegasus whistle and has used it to summon himself a ride as Law nearly falls over the railing with the rest of Luffy’s friends and fans, breath held in anticipation.

The blue dot indicating Cavendish nearly _teleports_ to the cup at impossible speeds. Bartolomeo screams at Luffy to leave him behind and _go to the cup_ but the kid heatedly refuses, struggling against the thorns himself.

Cavendish swipes the silver cup.

The loud buzzer indicates the end of the task, the students dressed in light blue uniforms going crazy, shooting off fireworks and screaming out their school’s hymn. The obnoxious announcer proclaims Beauxbatons as the winners of the first-ever Triwizard Cup.

* * *

 

“Still sulking?” Law asks after Beauxbatons’ massive carriage disappears in the horizon and Durmstrang’s boat sinks back into the depths of the lake. Luffy showed up to say a proper goodbye to his newly-made friends – Bartolomeo had teared up while eagerly shaking Luffy’s hand, shoving him a piece of parchment with his address scribbled on it – yet quickly retreated, not waiting up on the see-off ceremony. Law found him in his favorite spot by the clock tower, chin in hand, legs crossed Indian style.

“Nuh-uh,” Luffy hums thoughtfully, yet doesn’t look up. “It sucks but I’m glad that the cup was taken by a good guy.”

“You would’ve taken Bartolomeo’s advice if it was someone you disliked?”

“Yeah.” Luffy finally turns to face him, hair ruffled by the warm spring breeze. Today, the weather’s amazing. The sunlight catches on Luffy’s pitch-black strands in some ethereal way. It takes Law’s breath away. “It would’ve been like a dying wish. I would’ve carried on a fallen man’s legacy. Seems that in the end I didn’t want the trophy _that badly_ ,” he shrugs.

“Did you at least get what you wanted out of this tournament?” Law moves to sit by Luffy, closing his eyes and enjoying the sunrays on his face.

“Yes,” is the immediate reply, “I absolutely did. And way more than that too.”

“Glory?” Law opens one lazy eyelid to observe Luffy’s reaction. The kid’s idly looking ahead, smiling to himself. "Fame?"

“That,” he agrees, “And more.”

“Do tell.”

When he thinks that Luffy isn’t going to answer, he does, a little flustered, “Oh. You know. This and _that_ ,” then, to avoid any further questions, he adds, “I hope we can hang out this summer as well, Traffy.”

Law doesn’t see a problem with it. Not anymore. “…We’ll see. I’ve N.E.W.T.s to attend to. The date’s been pushed back due to the tournament. Afterwards… well. Dunno.”

The kid takes it for a confirmation, “Good.”

* * *

 

Law’s scores are impressive enough for Corazon to order his favorite food and throw a small party consisting of the two of them. At the end of the night, he shows his guardian Luffy’s most recent letter – an invitation to Foosha, sent to his closest friends only – and stops smiling the moment he sees the grim look passing Corazon’s features.

“Is everything alright?” he asks, slowly setting down the dirty plate.

Corazon lies, “Of course. Why?”

Law doesn’t appreciate it, a frown twisting his face, dread seeping into his bones. He knows this look far too well. Whatever the case, it’s bad. And if he isn’t mistaken, it has to do with “family business”.

“You’re lying,” Law points out. “Is it related to Doflamingo?”

Corazon sighs, looking rather worn down, aged beyond his years. Recently, he’s been staying up late into the night, working on one thing or another, disappearing far more often than it was normal – and Rocinante, admittedly, tended to disappear _a lot_. “Look, I can give you two days at most,” he confesses, “I’d rather you stay at home where you’re safe,” “ _And in my reach_ ”, is the unvoiced sentence. Law’s shoulders sag.

He’s never going to escape this. Dellinger’s words constantly echo in the back of his head, mocking: _he owns you._

“I’m staying then,” Law says determinedly and scrubs at the plate with more force than necessary. Fuck Donquixotes and fuck everything, really. He and his guardian will never be free. Not truly.

He’s gotten ahead of himself by thinking that one day everything will work out without any sacrifices needed.

“Law…” Corazon begins, ready to give him some sort of speech meant to make his foolish son change his mind, but Law cuts him off with a sharp and firm “no”.

“I don’t want you to pass up on this chance just because of some minor inconveniences,” Corazon sighs, defeated. Unwilling to argue on this any further.

Law sets the ceramic plate with a loud clack, anger radiating off his frame as he bristles, “Look, this isn’t some “minor inconvenience”. We’re talking about our _safety_ and I’m not going to risk it all just because of some… needs of mine!” he raises his voice, shoulders shaking. “I’m not going to choose when there’re no options left!”

“There’s _always_ a choice,” Corazon interjects quietly, lighting a new cigarette. Lately, their kitchen stinks of those.

“No,” Law grits out, wiping at his wet hands. “There _isn’t._ And you know it as well as I do. I’m not a kid anymore, Cora, you don’t have to _lie_ to me. He’s not going to leave us alone. He’ll _never_ let us live in peace. And frankly, the only plausible option that I see, is running away. _Far away_ from here. Getting possible protection. Somewhere he can’t reach.” Law takes in a deep, grounding breath. “I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. It can work. I’ll graduate and we can leave Dressrosa and this continent. Together.”

The moth circling around the buzzing kitchen light casts warped shadows on his guardian’s face. He doesn’t outwardly react to this brave statement nor does he acknowledge it in any way. Law flushes in embarrassment and gnawing discomfort – he must sound like a dumb kid with big, flawed dreams.

“I’m not bringing you down with me,” Corazon states firmly, eyebrows pinched. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it’s the fair-haired man’s final statement regarding the topic. “You’re to live your own life as a free man.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but I’m not exactly free,” Law throws his arms in the air, hurt over being brushed aside so easily. “He’s going to come for me whether you’re around or not. I’m a part of the _Joker clan_ and I’ll be stuck in it until the end of my days!”

“I’ll come up with something,” Corazon tells him and gets up, tense beyond belief. “I’ll set you free, Law, even if it’s the last thing I do. Now, finish up here and go up to your room. I’ll be back in a few hours,” he says as Law calls out to him but the man simply shuts the front door, locking it.

The distraught teen sinks into the chair, pulls the hood low over his eyes and curses his predetermined fate, listening to the clock counting down the seconds.

* * *

 

Luffy understands and then sends Law a bunch of moving Polaroid pictures, tied together with a black string. Law mindlessly pets Merry and goes over the sizeable stack, most of the shots clearly taken by Luffy – the pastel-colored images shake a little but he can make out the people caught on film quite clearly.

He sets aside the pic of Luffy dressed in nothing but jean shorts, zooming on his beloved broom and scoring points off Zoro’s team with a line of text saying “look at this show off” scribbled in Nami’s neat writing underneath it and smiles at the shot of Luffy and the rest sitting by a sizeable campfire, everyone waving at the camera or pulling funny faces. Luffy grins at him from the corner of the pic, flashing him a peace sign, the camera raised high above his head. There’s a simple “wish you were here!!!” written in gold ink, right on the white strip of space below the animated picture. On the other side, there’s the date of when it was taken – August 9th – along with a bunch of signatures.

Next to Robin’s name, there’s a message: _put these photos to good use. Thank you for these past 7 years._

It hits Law like a ton of bricks – he’s missed out on a _graduation_ party. He’s going to show up to Hogwarts for his 6th year and a third of these people will be gone. No more Robin, Franky, Ace and Sabo.

Law pins the picture to the overflowing bulletin board, right beside the picture of him and Corazon standing in front of the house on their first day of Dressrosa.

He keeps the one of Luffy laughing and pointing at the camera with Robin’s wide-brimmed white sunhat perching on top of his head - his own straw hat is tied around his neck – on the windowsill.

* * *

 

The sixth year is rather uneventful.

Law keeps studying, keeps attending to Prefect duties and the routine that he’s been keeping for the past god knows how many years continues. He still sees Luffy and they still hang out during weekends because Luffy is stuck taking remedy classes – being a champion and all made him fall behind with his schoolwork. He was excused from plenty of tests and to make things even, he had to write them ‘til the end of the autumn semester. The kid was tired, overworked, and more often than not, he’d curl up on the nearest sofa or windowsill located wherever and he’d nap, faceplanting into Law’s lap.

It takes him _several warnings_ from various teachers and Prefects to return to obeying the proper dress code, necktie always clumsily tied – he didn’t quite learn how to do it, and now, Sabo wasn’t around to fix it for him – shoes no longer consisting of summery flip-flops. Shanks had confiscated the straw hat as well, almost immediately ending up in a yelling match with his red-faced, angry nephew. Luffy only stopped arguing when the professor was forced to deduct house points from their own house, dramatically stomping away.

So it’s kind of same old, same old.

When he tells Nami and Usopp about his failed tutoring session with Luffy – he had some trouble with Potions and only Law could remedy the situation because apparently Sanji would rather stab himself with the ladle than spend more than three seconds with Luffy next to a _boiling cauldron filled with some unknown potion_ – they exchange these weird, supposedly knowing looks.

Law doesn’t get what the big deal is, really. Luffy had fucked up the instructions, dumped the wrong ingredient at the wrong time and then made the stupid thing explode in hot pink clouds. Law grabbed Luffy by the shoulders to shove him aside, out of danger’s way, and the abrupt action made his left arm momentarily disappear in the mist.

Needless to say, what he retracted could hardly be referred to as an arm.

Luffy laughed himself to death at the sight of Law’s newly-acquired tentacle-like appendage resembling a purplish-pink octopus. Embarrassed, he swatted the kid with it and then had a hard time pulling away the suction cups from his cheek. It left behind dark red, angry marks that made Law crack up in return. They were snickering for a solid ten minutes before Law took another look at his wiggling tentacle and decided to pay the healing ward a visit.

“What?” he asks when Nami snorts a laugh, index finger curling her orange strands. During the span of the summer, they’ve grown to insane lengths. Law suspected that there was some sort of potion involved.

“Oh nothing,” she chirps in her faux innocent voice. “It’s just that rumor has it that on our second year, Sanji made Zoro’s cauldron explode in a lame attempt at flirting.”

“Zoro had green tentacles for arms,” Usopp nods, remembering that class with extreme clarity. The screaming kids either ran out of the dungeon or dropped to the floor to avoid getting touched by the neon pink smoke. “It was horrible. He tried to strangle Sanji with them before the professor interrupted.”

“And then they became mutual friends through the world’s greatest dating app – Luffy.”

“Learning from the master,” Usopp nods in approval, fingertips cradling his chin.

“Both are stupid as hell, though,” Nami agrees with a huff, waving a hand. “Why would you even do that?”

“He did get jealous when Zoro spent time with that Perona girl,” at Law’s confused stare, Usopp elaborates. “We didn’t even know that Zoro has a sister. They arrived at Foosha together because their father decided to punish them by forcing them to spend more around each other. Family bonding or whatever. Apparently they spent the entire summer arguing and he’d had enough. It worked out fine in the end though, so.”

“Zoro has _a sister_?” Law questions, eyebrows scrunched up and eyes squinted.

“Yeah,” Nami says. “She’s a student at Beauxbatons, though. Said that Hogwarts is too uncool and old-fashioned for her taste. Besides, she associates it with Zoro’s foul Quidditch socks that always somehow end up in her room and laundry basket. Perona didn’t want to enter the tournament either so we didn’t see her around. “

“This is too fucking strange to consider.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Usopp hums. “Zoro hardly talks about his family and his life back home. No wonder Sanji was livid.“

“Luffy didn’t even question it though he was confused as to who the weird pink-haired chick was.”

“Leave it to Luffy,” Law sighs, “And speak of the devil.”

He doesn’t have to turn around to hear the telltale click-clacking of Luffy’s polished dress shoes approaching very quickly. He still manages to get away with his stupid, rolled-up pants, though.

The kid barrels into him from behind as per usual and wastes no time in planting his chin into Law’s shoulder. “Traffy, come nap with me!” he whines, high-pitched, tugging on the back of his school robe to indicate how urgent this is. Law is to tend to it _immediately_.

Nami tells them to scram, playfully winking Law’s way when Luffy drags him away from the duo and up to the clock tower.

* * *

 

“This’d be so much more comfortable on an actual bed,” Luffy mumbles somewhere into his stomach, slim arms hooked around Law’s torso to keep him in place. The grip is strong enough for him to draw the conclusion that if he were to bail, Luffy would drag him back down, no questions asked.

“No,” is all Law says as Luffy looks up at him, eyes shadowed by his messy inky strands, chin pressed into his shirt. He’s pouting.

It’s, god forbid, fucking adorable.

“Comfy sofa then! The ones in the Gryff tower are great. You know that,” Luffy lets out a prolonged yawn, muffling it into Law’s chest. He seemingly doesn’t have enough energy to lift his head, no less talk, pliant like some breathing ragdoll. “Meet me there tonight. The password’s not gonna change till tomorrow afternoon. Let’s sleep together,” he murmurs the vaguely dirty-sounding offer and Law has to strain his ears to make out the lazy sentences, doing a double take.

He knows that Luffy means it in a completely innocent, one-hundred percent pure way but he tenses up nonetheless, face flushing. Law looks at the plain ceiling to calm himself, heartbeat suddenly picking up a notch or five. This whole “being a teenager deal” kinda sucks – screw the fact that he’s one year away from what’s considered to be legal adulthood in the wizarding world. He already has _dreams_ to deal with and Law certainly doesn’t need any more visual stimuli.

Luffy saying shit like that as though it means absolutely nothing – he sometimes has to remind himself that it really _doesn’t_ – doesn’t help his case.

Law’s mind is somewhere far away when he replies with an instinctual “sure”, signing his death sentence.

* * *

 

It comes as no surprise that Luffy is a cuddler, consciously or not.

Law has a hard time relaxing, mind working overtime – how’s he going to sneak back into his own common room, what if someone comes downstairs, what if they see Ravenclaw’s Prefect, ex school terror cuddling on the wine-red sofa with his not-lover Monkey D. Luffy, Hogwarts’ champion and the notorious troublemaker – when Luffy rises, hair disheveled and oversized sweater, that definitely belonged to Ace before, wrinkled and slipping down his lean collarbones. Law contemplates the possibility of dying on the spot, discreetly pinches his tattooed hand – Corazon let him do whatever the hell he wanted the moment he turned sixteen, signing all papers and even paying for half of Law’s edgy inks – and stiffens up at the sight of Luffy’s exaggerated frown.

“I can almost _hear_ you thinking unnecessary things!” Luffy exclaims, a bit too loudly. Law instinctively places a palm to his mouth, getting it licked in return. “I didn’t ask you to come here to stress out even further, okay?”

“M’not stressed,” Law mumbles, only a little disgusted by the saliva, gaze drifting to the fireplace. The fire is still going strong despite it being a little past 2 a.m.

“Tell that to whoever is willing to buy this crap,” Luffy grouches and then readjusts them so that Law’s face is now buried in the thick sweater, the yarn making it itch. “Calm down, no one’s going to randomly pop up and _hurt you_. I’ll kick their asses first.”

“Luffy – “ Law begins, gingerly sliding his palms up Luffy’s toned stomach to peel the clingy kid away from his face. He’s downright ready to suffocate.

“Hush,” Luffy tells him and scratches at his scalp, playing with the thick strands there. “Just relax. We’ve been over this.”

“It’s hard to relax when you’re trying to choke me with your goddamn clothes,” Law mumbles, supposedly moody while the kid exclaims a sheepish “oh” at that, moves aside. There’s a bit of space left between them now but Law’s far too tired to use that obvious opportunity to escape as he enjoys the warmth that Luffy’s body radiates no worse than the fireplace so he places his right arm around the kid’s wiry torso, closing his eyes, relishing in the feeling of comfort it provides.

Luffy’s fingers find the mess of his black hair once more, combing through it. “Better?” he questions.

Law grunts his approval, nuzzling into the fabric. He’s slowly getting used to it.

The scratching makes Law feel a certain kind of way and he figures that if he were a cat, right now he’d be purring obnoxiously loudly. He nearly drifts off, listening to Luffy’s even breathing and the crackling of the flames lapping away at the remains of the wood when the kid decides to rouse him by softly calling out his name.

“Luffy, shuddup,” Law lets out a yawn, “Can’t it wait?”

“Nope,” the kid laughs, keeping his voice down just enough to not rouse any suspicion from the Gryffs sleeping in their tower. “I wanna ask you something important.”

“What is it?”

“When you graduate… will we stay in contact?”

If Law was tiptoeing the line of complete black out before, then he’s wide awake now, lips thinning out and sharp eyebrows furrowing. Honestly? He’s never thought that far ahead. He used to think of the future back when he was a _kid_ but figured that by the end of Hogwarts, he’d either end up dead in a ditch somewhere or back at Mariejois and under Doflamingo’s boot. His little soldier, young and aspiring dark wizard, raised by Corazon to supposedly obey every single command without a single thought of his own left to spare. Instead of obedience, Corazon had taught him the importance of free will and reignited Law’s long since faded urge to live on.

Law would think of Corazon dying, disappearing after this was over, about his dreams shattering, and those plaguing thoughts scared him so badly that he eventually gave up on thinking about the future altogether, deciding to live in the present instead. His future seemed bleak either way.

“I’m not gonna ask you to stay by my side or anything like that,” Luffy effectively pulls him out of his dark musings, “I’d never tie myself to another person nor do I want others to do so to me. Even if you’re apart, you will always carry the people important to you, in memories and in heart. That’s what I think. And I wanna carry you with me, Traffy. Till the ends of earth!” he earnestly declares, eyes shining. Law wants to cover his face in embarrassment – one should never tell something this cliché and embarrassing to people they care about. It’s simply too much to handle, for Law, anyways. And this kid in particular holds a frightening power in him.

Luffy is a free spirit, a good soul, and grants others space despite being pushy with his actions and sometimes his words. He can love a person dear to him from afar and that’s a quality that Law respects and appreciates.

But he doesn’t want to promise Luffy something that he possibly won’t be able to keep. Law doesn’t know what awaits in the near future and he’d rather not hurt the other by promising to stay in contact but then never doing so. Law is a man of his word, was raised as one, and he’d never lie to Luffy. Never.

“We’ll see,” he answers cryptically. “Perhaps you’ll get bored of me by then and won’t have to worry over any of this.”

Luffy doesn’t take kindly to his explanation, hands moving to rest on Law’s cheeks, tilting his head up. The kid has slid down the sofa without his knowledge so Law nearly startles at the proximity of their faces, Luffy’s dark eyes boring into his, flickering. He seems to be searching Law’s intimidated expression for something, some sort of emotion, spark, and pushes his cheeks together, determined when he says “I’ll never get bored of you. Never, you hear?”

Law doesn’t get to respond with something sarcastic and painfully dishonest because Luffy wraps himself around his body like some sort of bizarre human blanket, nose buried in Law’s hair. Wide-eyed, the latter stares at the kid’s lean neck, nose just shy of touching the tanned skin stretched over delicate collarbones.

Luffy nuzzles into his scalp, “When are you going to realize it, Traffy? You’re important to me. I’m trying to show it to you every single day and I’ll keep on trying ‘til you finally get it how much you mean to me.”

“I know, Luffy,” Law says.

“I can’t do great things in the future if you’re not around. You’re a part of us.”

“I know.”

“And we may not know how to show it properly at times but we really do love you. _I_ love you.”

“I,” the word “know” dies on his tongue, body going rigid. This is a bit too much. A bit too unexpected. No one’s allowed to throw around a word this heavy _this carelessly_. It messes Law up a bit, knowing that Luffy doesn’t seem to _feel it_. Doesn’t seem to take notice of his overflowing feelings. It sucks, damn it. It really does.

More than a little flustered and angry, Law fists a hand in the back of Luffy’s sweater, gritting out a curt, “Do you have any idea what you’re saying?”

“Yes,” the kid tells him without missing a beat and Law wants to keep on being angry but the word makes the defiance disintegrate from his tired body. He feels drained.

“Do you really?” he asks again just to be a cynical bastard.

Luffy sits up.

His face is roughly the color of the surrounding décor and he glares at Law as though he’s just called him a liar – which, indirectly, he probably has. At a loss of what to do, the kid places a hand on Law’s chest area, tapping it twice. Right over his heart.

Feeling his heartbeat which is embarrassingly fast.

“This,” he says, “Happens to me too. All the damn time. Tell me how it feels.”

Law gapes, his eyes wide due to the overwhelming surprise and this unexpectedly intense confrontation. Depending on his answer, Law knows that their delicate friendship is going to change for the better or worse. In fact, screw worse – if he tells Luffy “no”, the kid will let it go. Will not blame him. They’ll keep on being friends and they’ll forget this conversation and tomorrow morning Roronoa isn’t going to tease the living shit out of him and the rest won’t say something along the lines of “fucking finally”.

“How what feels?” Law asks, tentative.

“When I’m around,” Luffy says with zero shame, staring Law down.

He isn’t sure he’s ready to have this conversation.

He’s never been sure.

“Good,” he tells him, looking aside. The fire seems to be growing stronger? “Like I won’t want to be anywhere else ever again. But at the same time like I’m dying on the inside.”

“Why?”

Law exhales, “Because you never look my way.”

“How do you know that?” Luffy questions, expression pinched. He seems a little lost. “Did you ever take a moment to actually check?”

Law wants to say “yes, I fucking _did_ , plenty of times” but realizes that it’d be a lie. Lately, he hasn’t been, as Luffy puts it, looking. Hasn’t been searching. For signs, for hints. He’s resigned to this never working out before it even had a chance to develop.

“Thought so,” Luffy tells him, smirking in a smug way. It somewhat doesn’t fit him – it’s Law’s thing rather than Luffy’s.

“I don’t see how this changes anything?” he asks, incredulous, but Luffy shakes his head.

“It doesn’t,” he agrees and after witnessing Law’s crestfallen expression, he adds, “But we’re clearing it up regardless. I maybe be a bit stupid at times, Traffy, but I’m not _dense_. And you’re smarter than me so you must’ve noticed it a long time ago.”

“What?” is all that Law says, squinting, jaw dropping. His heartbeat is like thunder in his ears – positively deafening. It’s less of a “noticed what?” and more of a “what’s going on, is this _a dream_?”

“My feelings? What else?” Luffy questions as though _he’s_ the dense one here and Law inhales so suddenly that he nearly coughs.

Oh god, this is actually happening.

“Your feelings?”

“Yes.”

“Your feelings that you hold for _me specifically?”_ Law inquires carefully, refusing to use the words “like” or “love”. Or even “crush”. He isn’t sure if Luffy knows about them, even. Or comprehends them properly. It’s a bit nerve-wracking.

“The same ones you described, yeah,” the kid nods eagerly, face coloring once more. “Except for the last part. I feel like living rather than dying. Living with you around, thinking about me somewhere even when we’re apart! That kind of deal. It’s still a little confusing but Robin explained it all pretty well,” Luffy then shyly faceplants into Law’s chest, the heat radiating from his flushed cheeks searing-hot.

Oh. So Robin did. Law never thought she’d meddle to this extent. Well, he’s gonna have to thank her for that it seems.

He awkwardly rests a palm on Luffy’s scalp, making the kid nearly groan and melt into him even further. Right, sensitive spot. A bit embarrassed, Law moves to retract his fingers but Luffy grabs his wrist and buries the slack hand back into his mussed hair. “Feels nice,” he mumbles.

Law obeys the half-assed command, still reeling over this, petting Luffy absentmindedly. What a wild night.

Does it mean that he and Luffy are… official now? Can he, uh.

Can he kiss him?

As if reading his thoughts – and damn, Luffy got really in sync with those over the years – the kid pulls away from his chest, hovers right over Law’s beet-red face and then misses his mouth completely, nuzzling into his cheek like some overly-affectionate feline. Afraid to scare him off, Law touches the sides of his torso, too tense to actually put pressure behind the touch.

Luffy encourages him with one last brush of his nose and a tentative nip to the lower lip.

It’s… _wow_. Intense doesn’t even begin to describe it but it’s not like Law’s complaining – he’s being repeatedly electrocuted by the smallest of touches. He readily fists Luffy’s thick sweater and brings the kid down on top of him, finally giving into the invisible pressure.

He kisses the kid with everything he has and Luffy kisses back just as eagerly, sending shivers down Law’s tense spine. It’s a bit awkward due to their mutual inexperience in this field, teeth meeting and noses meshing, but it still feels great, _liberating_. And when Luffy boldly tugs on the short hair growing out of Law’s flushed nape, eagerly trying to make him part his sealed lips, Law nearly up and _dies_ , giving in completely, losing himself to Luffy’s pace.

The first curious swipe of the latter’s tongue makes Law produce _an atrocious_ muffled noise – Law fucking _whimpers_ , fingers switching between pressing into the kid’s toned back and mindlessly scratching at his spine. To reward him for the blind obedience, Luffy caresses the column of Law’s prickling neck, brushing calloused pads of his fingertips over all the right places.

He’s okay with this.

Satisfied by the reaction he gets, the kid pulls up his leg, blunt nails digging into the back of Law’s overly-sensitive thigh.

Completely _okay._                                        

Apparently Luffy manhandling him is… really hot. Huh. The more you know. The kid could offer to fuck him into the sofa and he’d say thank you.

Luffy doesn’t, only grins against Law’s mouth and pecks him on the cheek, keeping their first-ever toe-curling make out session in boundaries.

* * *

 

“Who cares if you’re not around at the common room?” Luffy whines when Law has to go, arms wrapped around his thigh. There are visible scratch marks peppered on his lower back where the dumb sweater rolls up too much. “Stay here with me.”

“You and I both know that I can’t do that,” Law curses when he spots the time – it’s already way past 3. “Also, I’m a Prefect, remember? I’m supposed to be up before everyone else.”

“Then sleep here till morning and leave for your errands or whatever.”

Sleeping over aside, Law gestures at his hoodie-jeans combo, voice deadpan when he supposedly asks, “Dressed like this?”

“Laundry day,” Luffy offers, sticking out his tongue in a playful way.

“Luffy, no,” he groans and pries the kid’s grabby fingers away. It’s a complicated task – mostly because Law really doesn’t want his significant annoyance to let go. “Go back to your room and get some sleep. We’ve classes tomorrow. Today.”

“I can skip.”

“You shouldn’t,” the request gets no reaction whatsoever, so Law tiredly fixes himself, “ _I_ don’t want you to.”

Luffy crosses his legs and huffs, palms resting on his ankles. “Fine, whatever. But only because you said so.”

“Do you care about _anything_ I have to say, really?”

“Mostly yes,” Luffy nods and smiles. A yawn escapes him at that. “At least promise to come over tomorrow night.”

“I’m not going to cuddle you every single day of the week, you know,” Law rolls his eyes, pulling on his shoes. “Nor am I going to sneak around the castle and risk serious trouble.”

“Ehh,” Luffy blows out his cheeks in a display of fake anger and disappointment. “Some boyfriend you are!”

Law starts coughing at the seemingly casual word, Luffy’s concerned gaze slowly replaced by a laughing fit. “Your face, oh my god – “

Startled by the sound, Law presses a palm over that loud mouth for the second time that night, “Shhh,” he hushes. “You’re gonna get us caught.”

Luffy kisses the inside of his palm, never breaking eyes contact.

Perhaps Trafalgar Law’s sixth year of Hogwarts is worth noting.


	7. Chapter 7

They don’t need to come out to their friends about the secret relationship because they can put two and two together without pointing out the obvious. Their bond doesn’t outwardly change – in the eyes of the rest of the student body, they’re still _Law and Luffy_ , two incompatible kids somehow making it work – but it certainly becomes stronger. Law finally relaxes around Luffy, readily accepting the overabundance of body contact, no matter how minor. He still feels reluctant when it comes to initiating it, though – he isn’t sure when it’s appropriate. He can’t seem to get a hang of the timing and can’t really tell apart when Luffy wants to be held or kissed. Or both at the same time.

Law discovers that he’s more than a little damn touch-starved as well. Luffy is always there to remedy the situation.

It feels disgustingly right and he never wants it to be over. He knows that he’s getting his hopes up but he can’t stop himself – Law simply cannot visualize not having Luffy in his life. Doflamingo or whoever the hell won’t ever be able to take this away from him, this small source of happiness that he has found all on his own without anyone’s help.

Or so he thinks until his 7th and final year of Hogwarts.

* * *

 

Law doesn’t believe in signs. He doesn’t believe in divination, in horoscopes and in planet alignments. Some rocks in space cannot predict his destiny nor can they influence it, along with some soggy tea leaves sticking to the bottom of his cup.

He agrees to this nonsense only because Luffy whines it out of him and Law has a hard time saying no because his dorky boyfriend is really pressured by the deadline. After dinner, Law seats him down at Ravenclaw’s table, dutifully drinks the tasteless tea and hands Luffy the ceramic cup, pulling out the remains of his own homework. The kid has three heavy tessomancy tomes spread out before him as he tries to decipher Law’s destiny by looking for vague shapes in the remains of the beverage.

It goes as well as one might expect.

The kid clearly isn’t cut out to be a seer nor does he have a clear “inner eye” or whatever the fuck they called it.

Luffy purses his lips, spinning the cup clockwise for what seems to be a hundredth time that minute. He continuously glares at the goop sticking to the bottom and then his eyes light up as though he’s finally got the hang of it. Law barely reins the urge to roll his eyes. This has been happening for the past fifteen minutes. “Now it looks like a meatloaf!” Luffy exclaims, energetically nodding to himself. Law gives up and sighs. “Does that mean you’re going to eat meatloaf tomorrow? If you do, share it with me. Aw man, now I’m hungry,” the statement is followed by a loud gurgle of Luffy’s stomach. The kid is a bottomless pit of greed.

“We just had dinner,” Law says, only a little exasperated.

Luffy blinks at him as though he’s just said something outrageous but doesn’t press it further – he has a long essay to attend to. Continues his lame divination attempts. Sees a bunny in Law’s cup.

Tells him that it’s cute, just like Law.

Law kicks him under the table and pulls one of Luffy’s books closer, leafing through it. It looks boring and vague. Philosophical, but not it a good way. “Why would you even choose this subject?” Law asks, frowning at some of the more dumb sounding descriptions. “This isn’t science and it’s an utter waste of time. It teaches you nothing but anxiety and paranoia.”

Luffy shrugs, gaze still fixed on the nonsense leaves. “I picked it only coz Ace said that it’s an easy class if you bullshit hard enough. And the time window was good for me so I was like, sure, why not? I can burn some incense and read omens,” he then squints at the cup and looks at Law, “Do you know what a bunny means?”

“There’s no bunny in the book, Luffy.”

The aforementioned boy takes the said book away, reading over the directory, “Then it has to be a rabbit!”

“I somehow doubt you’ll find that as well.”

“I know what I saw and if I say that it’s a bunny that means it’s a bunny.”

“Five minutes ago you were certain that it was a torpedo.”

“It’s about creativity, Traffy, sheesh. Loosen up,” Luffy snickers and nudges his shoe against Law’s shin. “None of this is going to come true.”

Law wants to say something, perhaps ask him why the hell he even needed Law’s help to begin with if he could easily bullshit his way through this class and his yet-to-be-written essay when Nami enters the hall, clearly searching for someone. She doesn’t seem to find her target but she spots them and comes closer to say hi.

“Oh,” she says, turning down Luffy’s offer to sit by his side, supposedly in a hurry. She needs to find Sanji and Usopp to discuss their group project. “Tea leaf readings. Nice! Bellmere taught me how to do those when I was five or so. I wouldn’t have anything better to do on rainy days.”

Luffy lights up at that, head snapping in Nami’s direction. “Can you help me then? I’m not good at this.”

Nami smirks, “Of course you’re not. I didn’t expect anything less,” at Luffy’s childish protests, she looks at Law, “your cup?” Nami inquires, peeling the said object out of Luffy’s slack fingers.

Law nods. Nami takes it as a good to go. She spends a few seconds inspecting it, face expressionless and then sets it down with a sharp clack. For some reason she seems a little tense.

Law doesn’t have a good feeling about this but quickly fights off the bizarre, intruding thoughts – this isn’t science. It’s not factual.

Whatever it is, _it won’t come true._

The Slytherin girl looks a little uncomfortable when she asks “How much do you believe in fate and all that crap?”

Law raises an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”

Nami breaks the serious act with a snort. Law feels duped somehow. Relieved maybe. “It says right here that you’re gonna die at the age of twenty if you don’t get laid,” she says with a playful wink followed by an eyebrow wiggle. The short glance that the girl sends Luffy’s way is hard to miss.

Law smirks, placing his chin into his curled hand. “Who says that I didn’t?”

The smug reply makes Nami’s dark eyes widen as she gapes between him and Luffy while the latter remains blissfully oblivious, leaning in with an exaggerated gasp and a wide-eyed look.

“Traffy, you harlot!” the kid proclaims, making Nami seem all the more confused by it.

Good.

“Do you even know what that word means?”

Luffy shrugs. “Nah. But Sabo calls Ace that a lot.”

It makes Nami chuckle and shake her head, orange hair fanning out like a thick curtain and Law holds back a laugh. “Thought as much,” then, to Nami, “You’re already helping us out, so you have to tell us what you saw in my cup.”

The girl looks up at the enchanted ceiling, checking the weather. The sky is swarmed by heavy snow clouds – it seems that winter is fast-approaching. “It’s always up for interpretation, really. It’s hard to tell. I did see a death omen in there so be careful in the near future, just in case,” she says with as much casualness she can muster and Law resigns himself to it.

It’s not like he can somehow rearrange the tea leaves to make them more favorable.

Law wants to tell her something along the lines of “oh, I see, thanks for not withholding, I guess” but Luffy’s way ahead of him, grabbing the cup and nearly burying his nose in it, frowning. “Wait, that can’t be right,” he mumbles heatedly and Law’s almost touched by it.

To make light of this situation, Law attempts to laugh it off, “You told me that it looks like a bunny.”

Luffy doesn’t seem to get it, voice grave when he says “It did! And it doesn’t matter what some cup says. You’re not going to die. None of us will!” he ends his speech on a resolute note.

Somehow it makes everything even worse. Nami looks away, almost guilty, and Law thinks that Luffy is far too idealistic for his own good – he simply cannot protect all of his friends in the type of world they live in today. Luffy hates tying himself to people – how does he expect to shove everyone out of danger’s way?

“See, this is what jinxes it,” Nami says quietly, mindlessly playing with her golden bracelet as Luffy slams a hand on the table, the sudden noise startling his companions.

“Don’t _joke_ about this,” he asks – no, he _commands_ it.

The rest of the evening is spent in awkward silences.

* * *

 

Corazon finds Law on the final day of autumn semester and asks him if he wishes to stay at Hogwarts for the winter break.

Surprised by such unexpected question, Law has to double take. After Corazon confirms that yes, Doflamingo has other urgent business to attend to and that he won’t be hosting a Christmas party this year, Law begins to consider it.

“But I already packed the suitcase and everything,” he tells Corazon, playing with the fraying strap of his loyal schoolbag. “Why here, though? Why not go back home?”

Corazon smiles around his lit cigarette. He seems to be in a very good mood. In his hand, Law sees a present – signed to Professor Rocinante from his students. It’s a small thing that makes Law happy for his guardian. “Hm, I’ve business to attend to as well. Don’t want to leave you by yourself – you might burn the house down before I get back,” he ruffles Law’s hair affectionately, making the teen sputter, pink-cheeked.

“I think you’ve a bigger chance of doing that, Cora.”

“I’m not even going to argue,” he waves a hand around and takes another drag, going to the nearest trashcan to get rid of the collecting ash. “Ah, well, in the end it’s entirely your choice. You may go back to Dressrosa, but I’d much rather you stay here. I’ll take care of things and then come back at the end of winter break. Besides, I figured you’d be ecstatic over this – isn’t Luffy staying in the castle this year?”

Corazon isn’t wrong – indeed, for the very first time, Luffy’s decided to skip out on a visit back home. Apparently this holiday season Dadan will be visiting a good friend residing in another country and Ace’ll be far too busy with work to celebrate, no less come back home on time for Christmas. Luffy doesn’t feel like staying alone in the huge house, either. Chopper won’t be leaving Hogwarts as well – a thing that makes Luffy exceptionally happy. The two have already begun making plans for their winter break too.

Luffy wants Law to stay behind as well, even flopped down on his open, half-packed suitcase to make his boyfriend stop gathering his things, but eventually gave up after Law, unwillingly, made his resolve clear. It’s not like he wanted to visit Mariejois – he was forced to, yearly.

And now… no Mariejois. No Donquinxotes to deal with.

Luffy.

Unknowingly, Law blushes at his guardian’s bold insinuations and wrings the poor strap of his messenger bag, nodding. “Alright, I’ll remain in the castle. When will you be leaving?”

Corazon plays with the braided tassel of his green hat. It has a reindeer on it. “Today, actually. That’s why I wanted to find you. I wanted to know your answer.”

Law frowns, a little saddened to hear this news – as of late, his guardian’s frequent disappearances were making him even more anxious than they did so in the past. They seemed to be becoming _longer_ and now that Law has finally grasped the concept of unconditional love, the thought of losing it nearly makes him numb. For Corazon to leave so abruptly… something serious must’ve happened yet again.

The man seems to be well-versed in reading his facial expressions because he easily takes notice of Law’s ridiculous worry - the fact that Corazon is a capable wizard who can take care of himself just fine doesn’t change anything. It’s not like Corazon can tell the teenager that his worry is unwarranted – they’ve been living on the edge for far too long. But he has high hopes that soon enough they won’t have to experience the ever-present fear of their untimely deaths ever again.  “Oh, little one, you know how these things go. It’ll be alright, it’s just some work. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Yeah, I – I know, Cora. I get it. Family business above all,” Law bitterly quotes Vergo’s favorite phrase. It’s been drilled into the heads of new “recruits” time and time again to the point they were forced to believe it. Law tries to make himself let go of this topic afterwards – he doesn’t want Corazon to leave on such a sad note, “And please refrain yourself from calling me that, it’s… embarrassing. I’m a grown man,” he huffs childishly, semi-aware that he’s getting nowhere with this. Nor is he getting the point across to his overbearing “father”.

“You’ll always be a little eggplant to me, Law,” Corazon, as he had predicted, heartily laughs at that, pinching a red cheek. Law swats at his hand with less force than he usually would – which isn’t a lot, really. “Now then, don’t forget to stay in contact. Write me about your time here. Have fun with Luffy and the rest, don’t do anything that I wouldn’t – “

“Cora!” Law gasps, face on fire. It’s not like he hasn’t had… _thoughts_ as of late but to be called out by the older man like this – it’s too much.

“Alright, alright. I’ll see you in a few weeks, and if not, we’ll meet during the spring semester. Take care and Merry Christmas in advance,” Corazon wishes him merry holidays as he gives Law a quick hug and one final pat on the head – a temporary parting. The kid has grown up, no longer a little beansprout clinging to his thigh, fingers curled at the hem of Corazon’s shirt. He’s grown into a fine young man, a capable adult, and Corazon, as a guardian and benefactor – as Law’s _family member_ – could not be gladder. His boy is constantly surrounded by loved ones even if Law likes to deny it for the sake of denial or simply does not notice it. He will be _safe_ here, safe with the professors, the magic barriers and the heir of the D. clan.

Far away from Doflamingo’s reach and the small-scale war brewing in the underground.

“Ah, Merry Christmas to you too then,” Law says, fixing his mussed hair. His face is expressionless but his gray eyes remain soft.

“Be good now, don’t cause trouble. Love you, kiddo,” Corazon shoots him a crooked smile before heading in the other direction, a slight skip to his step.

Law watches his guardian leave and the sight saddens him beyond belief, anxiety picking up a notch. He burns the image into his mind just in case – the picture of a tall man in his feathered coat and stupid reindeer hat to match the extravagant decorations of the empty hallway.

“… I love you too.”

* * *

 

The holidays are a lazy affair.

They get bored at times like most teenagers without much to do. It’s not like Law terribly minds it – the holidays exist for this exact purpose; an excuse to relax and forget all your troubles. He catches up on sleep and the lack of homework is definitely a nice change of pace. Seeing that he was about to graduate, the workload kept increasing, the professors pushing their students to perform at their best during the final exams, pushing them to not get lazy – honestly, Law feels as though he’s already learned everything he needs to. Repeating the same old spells for the sake of repetition was starting to get a little annoying and more or less boring and he couldn’t wait to get out of Hogwarts - free to use magic whenever and however he pleased, no longer bound by the law and, uh, copious amount of homework.

In this world, he’s finally become a legal adult.

Over the course of the last few weeks, Luffy has become painfully aware of the fact that he and Law didn’t have much time left. Consciously or not, he’s began to bother Law far more often than usual, sometimes even going as far as choosing to spend time with him over hanging out with the rest of his friends. During those days, he’d grab Law by the wrist and drag him to some abandoned corner of the castle, push Law against the wall and just.

Hold him. Sometimes so tightly that Law’s sides would go numb or sting in a pleasant way.

It was almost as though he was about to disappear in a wisp of smoke or something – no more than some mirage that the kid had conjured in his mind.

It was a little weird. Monkey D. Luffy, a guy who’d claimed himself to be a man of freedom, of choice, clinging to another human being and _fearing_ the day of their inevitable parting, likely to never converse again. Perhaps it’s entirely Law’s fault – he’s the one who is yet to make any solid promises. Yet to promise Luffy his heart and his thoughts.

He’s the one making Luffy feel insecure and he cannot do much about it other than let the kid enjoy him and then blindly lose himself in Luffy’s comforting presence in return.

When Luffy asks him to come to the Gryff tower, Law does without giving it a second thought.

When Luffy climbs into bed with him, he doesn’t do anything to push him away.

When the kid nuzzles into his neck and slips a calloused palm under Law’s loose shirt, he’s forced to grab his wrist.

“No,” is all he says and Luffy nods, albeit a bit reluctantly. He quickly rolls off Law’s waist and snakes his arms around Law's right one, holding on tight as per usual. He’s not mad, nor does he seem to be disappointed. He respects Law’s firm, curt replies when it comes to _this_ scenario.

“Are you afraid that I’m going to forget you or something?” Law looks up at the full moon shining through the small gap between the red and gold curtains hanging off Luffy’s bedposts. He can’t properly see Luffy’s face in the dark– his eyesight is yet to adjust.

Is this an imprinting sort of thing? Is that why Luffy is constantly getting physical with him? Is he just making memories, tentatively pushing at Law’s limits? At this point, it’s a bit hard to tell, really.

“Sometimes,” Luffy sleepily mumbles after a long moment, rubbing at his cheek. Stifles a yawn. “I’ll remind you if that happens.”

“Anything else?” Law readjusts so that they can face each other while lying side by side. Luffy blindly pats around the bedsheets in search of Law’s fingers.

“Hmm, maybe that you’re gonna do something reckless and get yourself killed. Just yesterday Shanks has told me that the world is changing. For the worse. Makes me worry. For you, for the others,” he closes his eyes, biting at his lower lip. “Don’t want anything bad to happen to you before I get out of here.”

Ah.

Law snorts, “Me? Doing _reckless_ things? Don’t confuse me with yourself. I know that people who’re together tend to start acting alike, but please. Not gonna happen.”

He doesn’t have to be reckless to die young, but Luffy doesn’t need to know that part.

It seems to do the trick. Luffy smiles and pets the side of his face, index finger catching the golden circlets in Law’s pierced ears. It’s a soft, tender moment, “I believe you then. But you still have to promise.”

“I promise.”

“Pinky promise?” Luffy _shishishi_ s and sticks the said pinky into Law’s miffed face. Resigned and undeniably endeared, the latter hooks them together. It’s a weird thing to note, but Luffy’s palms have filled out more – then again, so did the rest of him. Law isn’t sure what’s holding him back really. Perhaps it’s Luffy’s pure naiveté. Maybe he’s just not mentally ready to take this to the next level. Either way, _they can’t_.

“Only if you promise to behave,” Law grins, receiving a pinch on the bridge of his nose.

“I’m well-behaved,” Luffy lies and then laughs at the sound of it.

“I’d like to argue,” Law pinches him back, right on the chubby, scarred cheek.

“But I don’t like arguing with you,” Luffy grins up at his boyfriend and flashes him his tongue. Just to be a dick, Law pokes at it.

The kid straight up _licks it_ , zero shame.

Sure, it’s not _sensual_ or anything of the sort but it still doesn’t fail to set Law’s nerve endings on fucking fire, so intense that he can almost feel the heat radiating off his face. He’s stuck at a loss of words and while his mind crashes and burns, Luffy shuffles closer and pecks him on the tip of his flushed nose. Cheek, the side of the neck – right where Law’s the most sensitive.

“Are you doing this on purpose?” Law grits out, cautious. Listens to the sound of Luffy’s warm breaths.

Luffy hums from somewhere on his rigid shoulder. Supposedly a “yes”.

“You’re like twelve,” Law laughs at the semi-reply, nervous and flushed beyond belief.

“I’m _a year_ younger than you, Traffy,” the kid’s rough hand is resting on his hip. Unmoving, but it’s still distinctively _there_ and it’s a warning as good as any. “So your argument is, uh? Invalid.”

“Okay, but I’m seventeen. And you’re still a minor.”

“Cool.”

“…Cool?” Law blinks. Right, Luffy didn’t obey these sorts of things. With him – it’s the farthest thing from a solid argument.

“Yep,” Luffy says, and then rests his sharp chin on Law’s bicep, sighing contently. “I’d never do anything you wouldn’t want me to, you should know that,” he yawns, relaxing into the body beneath him even further. “Just showing my appreciation.”

“For what?” Law laughs, incredulous.

He can feel Luffy’s tiny smooch even through the thick fabric of his ugly Christmas sweater – he’d unknowingly put it on first thing in the morning. By now it worked as a subconscious thing. It was all part of tradition – when he and Corazon would celebrate Christmas a second time way past the original date, far away from Mariejois and Doflamingo’s lameass dark wizard balls.

“Ha, cute, but it’s still not enough to grant you access to my pants,” Law deadpans and controls his elevated breathing to his best ability.

He expects a defeated, puppy-like “aw”, but instead, Luffy looks at him as though he’s grown a second head. “I wasn’t trying to get into your pants, Traffy,” he squints, surprised that Law would even assume that. As if he didn’t just feel him up in all the right (or wrong) places. “I’m not interested in that. I mean, for you I’d make an exception, but still.”

_Oh, okay._

“Then what are you trying to pull here?” he asks, genuinely confused.

Luffy only grins, unbearably cheeky and confident, “Don’t have to get into your pants to make you feel good,” he chirps, tapping at Law's chest. He isn’t sure as to what this indicates.

Still, it’s as good reassurance as any. A little reluctantly, Law nods his approval and lies back while Luffy eagerly repositions himself on his exposed stomach, lean thighs too warm and breath too slow. The former is curious, he cannot deny that. His body reacts to Luffy’s casual yet lingering touch as though it’s been electrified and the feeling is nice.

His sweater leaves through the gap between the curtains, minutely followed by a shirt.

* * *

 

On the first day of the new semester, Luffy is late to his DADA class.

He’s lost track of time and has forgotten the classroom transfer halfway to the fifth floor, which has resulted in him taking a long detour.

The hallways are void of life except for the occasional ghosts passing by and the quiet chatter of the people from neighboring oil paintings. It’s all oh so very peaceful, so Luffy takes his time, in no big rush. While his professor didn’t excuse tardiness he’s already gotten used to Luffy playing by his own rules. Plus he could always chalk it up to it being the first day of school and the late notice which he’d conveniently placed in his Herbology book and then forgot all about.

He rounds a corner of the naked hallway leading to the new 6th year classroom when he spots a familiar figure. It belongs to an old man with an impressive beard and Luffy immediately speeds up, waving to catch the man’s attention.

“Oh, Luffy!” he exclaims, a little surprised. “It’s been years. Congratulations on becoming Hogwarts’ representative on your 4th year, Garp was really proud of you,” He then looks around to properly take in the student-void hallway, “Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“Ah, got lost on my way. I’m already late so it won’t hurt to talk. How’s gramps doing, Sengoku? I haven’t heard from him in a while.”

The second in command of the Auror department, his grandpa’s loyal friend and valued comrade flashes him a delicate smile. “Garp’s well. Refuses to take a break and lay down like a normal person, but he’s managing. There’ve been some incidents happening around Wano islands, but it’s not something that we cannot handle.”

“You keep up the good work! Chase those dark wizards out,” Luffy huffs out a laugh and then checks Sengoku out. Admittedly, he hasn’t seen the old man in a while, but he seems to have seen better days. His eyes are red-rimmed from the lack of sleep, skin pasty and wrinkles deep, hair far more gray than Luffy remembers. It makes him frown. Sengoku stops the forced smile immediately afterwards. “Say, Pops, are you really doing alright? You don’t look so good. Why are you here even? Is something dangerous happening in our school?”

The old auror wearily shakes his head, closing his eyes. “No, everything’s fine. I’ve a meeting with the headmaster. There’s been an incident involving one of the students here so we must discuss it. Nothing to worry about, though,” Sengoku reassures him when Luffy’s lips thin out, frown deepening. “You should be getting back to class.”

Luffy shows no sign of moving anytime soon but it takes a single firm look for his shoulders to slump forward – he already knows that the auror won’t disclose any more information. These guys are far too anal about secrecy. His grandpa wanted him and Ace to follow in his footsteps and become great aurors but the troublemaking kids just didn’t see the appeal in it.

“Tell gramps I said hi,” Luffy mumbles, displeased with the outcome of the conversation and turns to move when Sengoku’s question makes him halt.

“Oh, before that, do you by any chance know where they’re holding 7th years’ Transfiguration classes? Ravenclaw’s house.”

It makes Luffy pale.

_Trafalgar’s class._

“Third floor, 56b,” Luffy says and speed walks away, a little anxious for reasons unknown.

* * *

 

“I’m sorry, Law,” Sengoku says, mournfully. He looks like he means it. “We realized it far too late.”

“I don’t need apologies,” Law sighs, sounding dead. He feels like it too. Cold, alone, _lost._ “There was nothing you could’ve done. So save it for someone else.”

“The house in Dressrosa, it’s – “the old man begins, voice strained with sadness and unshed tears. “You can return to it only in the company of three aurors of higher rank. If you wish to gather your belongings – “

“No,” Law cuts off and shakes his head, leaning his back against the wall. His legs are quivering so badly that he isn’t sure how he’s standing upright at this point. “Keep the house. Keep everything. I don’t care what you do with it, I’m not going back. I’m not going with you and I’m certainly not returning to Mariejois. I don’t care about your motives, I’m out.”

Sengoku sighs, a breath that takes a while to exhale. He’s tired and old and he’s grieving but Law doesn’t care. Will never care again. “Trafalgar, this isn’t what Rocinante would’ve wanted for you – “

Law smashes the side of his fist into the wall, splitting the flesh and making it bleed. It hurts like a bitch but it stings _so good_. It’s better than being weak in the presence of this man, better than sinking to his knees and bawling his eyes out the way he wants to. It’s better than screaming and kicking. _Way better_ than denying the reality of his current situation. He isn’t a child anymore, he can handle this like a grown man. The kind of man Corazon viewed him as.

And he never will.

He thinks that he’s keeping his voice even but its volume rises with every syllable to leave his twitching mouth. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, _Sir_ , but Rocinante is fucking gone and I don’t give a fuck about some wants and needs of a _dead_ man,” Trafalgar lies, gritting his teeth. Sengoku looks on, eyes widening. Hurt. “Thank you for informing me about it and that’s it. Don’t expect cooperation from me, don’t expect me to go back there and carry on as though nothing happened because the moment I set a foot in that mansion I will kill everyone inside it and, if I feel like it, myself afterwards,” he yells out the final sentence, angry beyond belief. His legs feel steadier, adrenaline kicking in. He’s aware that he’s dissing someone who could _help him_ , someone who could bring justice, but he will not do it _their way_ , will not do it S.E.F. _Auror Rocinante’s_ way. Law doesn’t have the heart to.

He had a feeling that Rocinante was playing a double agent. He just didn’t think that _this mission_ would be the reason for his untimely death.

“You _can’t_ make me do it. I don’t need the Ministry’s protection. I refuse,” he whimpers. Sengoku leaves him alone to mourn over the loss of his family.

The loss of his father figure.

It feels like he’s cried all his tears years ago so Law simply gets up and returns to class, earning suspicious looks from his fellow peers.

* * *

 

By the end of the day, the news of Professor Rocinante’s sudden resignation reaches every corner of the castle. A lot of people go on about their lives, unbothered by the fact in the slightest, unaware of the truth.

Rocinante was found dead in his home at Dressrosa. Assassinated via the forbidden curse.

No newspapers will report about this. Headmaster Newgate will not fill in the students on the very much real fact – the world was beginning to rapidly change. The dawn of a new era was nearing and everyone will be touched by it – most of all, those belonging to the oldest pureblood families.

Law then gets approached by the Donquixotes and that’s the moment that marks the end of his restrain.

“It’s your fault, isn’t it!? _Doflamingo_ is the one who did this, right!? Tell me everything that happened!” Law yells, not bothering to keep his voice down in the slightest, twisting Dellinger’s tie in a steel-like grip. The blond’s wand lies near the entrance to the empty classroom, cleanly snapped in half. “What the fuck did you tell him!? What sort of nasty shit did you say!? Fucking tell me right now or you can kiss your miserable existence goodbye.”

Dellinger grins at him, teeth bloody from the cuts on his tongue and lips. Despite choking, he still has it in him to mock the heartbroken boy. “We didn’t have to do anything, brother! He brought this all upon himself. It’s a good thing he finally kicked the bucket. He was useless to us anyways! Lying through his teeth just to save your skinny ass, you think Doffy wouldn’t find out?” Dellinger spits into his face, laughing. Law is _this close_ to murder but it almost feels like the action would let the asshole off the hook easily. He wants him to _feel pain_ , twice as much of it as Corazon had felt.

He wants him to feel Law’s grief and rage.

“ _Kill me_ if it makes you feel better. Fuck me up and then slip down the same shithole that bastard Corazon occupied, the fucking rat that he was.”

“Stop it,” Baby commands, voice quivering. While she never really liked Corazon she still considered her savior’s younger brother family. The news had shaken her in a disturbing way. “Stop it right now, Law, or you’ll regret it for the rest of your short remaining life!”

One glare is enough to shut her up and she makes no move to help Dellinger out, knees shaking. Buffalo looks thoroughly unamused as if this is another family drama.

Law sees red.

“Nothing,” he says with as much hatred as he can manage, “Trust me, you disgusting slug, nothing in this world would make me happier than ending your fucking life. How about I make it a memorable experience?” Law seethes, draws his wand, a torture curse resting on the tip of his tongue, a curse that’d get him expelled in a heartbeat when Luffy busts through the door, wand out.

Buffalo attempts to tackle him to the ground but Luffy dodges out of the way, points a wand under the big kid’s chin without sparing him a single look. He’s _horrifying_ like this as though he’s just as fucked up as Law feels on the inside.

“Law,” he speaks his _name_ and Trafalgar swallows, shivering. It’s a command, he knows. It’s almost as if Luffy’s using some sort of manipulation curse on him. “Set him down, he’s not worth it.”

Law snorts a mirthless laugh at that and then throws the Slytherin scum down, bringing his foot down on the brat’s knee. The sounds of agonizing pain that follow are amazing but Law cannot fully enjoy them because Luffy looks at him as though he’s the one who’s just received the bone-shattering blow.

“You don’t actually expect me to let it go, do you?” he laughs, a grimace warping his face. Luffy remains quiet, staring in that intense way of his. Law wants to crawl out of his skin due to the overwhelming shame that he’s not even supposed to feel. “I assume that you know of what actually happened. They’re responsible for it – just as much as the rest of _their_ family. I will _not_ let this go, Luffy.”

“I’m not asking you to,” Luffy says calmly and stabs the wand into Buffalo’s thick neck the moment the brat moves his meaty hand in a suspicious way. Glares at him in warning and then turns back to Law. “It’s what he wants. If you injure or kill him, you’ll be playing into their hands. This isn’t like you. You always plan ahead. I’m the one doing reckless shit, not you, damn it!” he shouts, anger radiating off his slim form, but at the moment, he looks bigger than anyone else in the spacious room.

Law quiets down as the anger fades, bringing about a fresh wave of stinging pain. Of loss and sadness.

“Come with me, Traffy,” Luffy pleads, a little gentler. “We can do this later.”

And since when is Luffy the _rational one_ between the two, since when is he the one offering to retreat instead of charging in and pulling Dellinger apart with his own bare hands. Is Law really that warped? Is it really that obvious? Is that why Luffy is telling him to save the revenge for later?

Law leaves, but not before placing a warning spell on Dellinger’s body – a spell that only _he_ knows and that only he can undo.

A spell that will not get recognized and will not land him in any shit with Doflamingo.

* * *

 

“Cry,” Luffy orders once they’re alone in their private spot at the clock tower. “Cry till you can’t anymore, Traffy.”

Law sits in silence, a meter away from Luffy and looks into the horizon obscured by the forest. Looks down, thinks of jumping through the window. Doesn’t say a word, face pale and eyes sunken.

He feels ill, physically and mentally.

As if sensing his suicidal, dark thoughts, Luffy grabs onto his wrist to stop him from attempting anything stupid. Or should he say anything _smart_ – his “normal” life is finally over. There’s no home, no Corazon, no _nothing_. There’s Doflamingo and Mariejois and Aurors and running away.

There’s Luffy and Law wants him to _go away._

The kid doesn’t shoot him any pitying looks like Sengoku did, doesn’t ask and doesn’t probe. He just _sits_ and reminds Law to cry every three minutes. Waits.

Currently, Law is in so much shock, lost in a state of dissociation so _intense_ that he assumes that he won’t ever be able to function as a human being ever again.

“Cry,” Luffy tells him again, pressing a cheek into Law's shaking shoulder. He hasn’t stopped trembling since he found out. “You need it. You don’t have to be strong right now.”

You don’t have to be Corazon’s strong little boy anymore.

You’re not _a boy_ anymore.

Corazon _isn’t here._

Law sees that stupid reindeer hat, sees the pine garlands and the gold decorations, sees the crooked smile and he breaks down bit by bit, taking in deep breaths, getting none. He knows that he’s having a panic attack – it’s been a long while since he last had one of those, perhaps his final one was when he’d last seen a Boggart crawl out of that accursed ancient closet – and Luffy holds onto him tighter, doesn’t really know what to do to help other than be there and speak half-assed reassurances, awkwardly pat at Law’s twitching back and hold him through all this mess.

Law sobs into Luffy’s shoulder and then weeps for what seems to be hours but could’ve been no more than a few minutes. He cries until it’s hard to keep his puffy eyes open, until he’s completely spent and he crashes. Luffy stays with him through it all, wordlessly looking into the distance, Law’s bigger build painfully pressing him into the ledge.

* * *

 

Law graduates without killing anyone only because it’s something that Corazon would’ve wanted for him. He needs to hold onto the last semblance to normalcy here.

He and Luffy barely talk after Law’s painful loss. He makes it clear that he does not wish to be in any sort of company and Luffy (after a whole lot of pointless fighting and one-sided screaming) relents, leaving him alone, worriedly watching from afar.

Law couldn’t wait to _leave_ just so that he wouldn’t have to see the kid’s looks. He loves him, god knows, but he doesn’t want to put himself and Luffy into any more danger, resorting to nasty techniques and lying to achieve his goals. Unfortunately for Law, Luffy isn’t dense so he can easily tell apart the truth and the lies but he still respects Law’s wishes now that they’re together.

Right after the graduation ceremony, the kid catches Law at the intricate school gates, running towards him at full speed. Law drops his heavy suitcase in favor of catching him and then hugs him for a long while, holding the kid impossibly close.

The moment they part, Luffy forces a toothy grin and Law tries to memorize it despite it being artificial, clearly practiced in front of a mirror. It’s better than tears or anger. Better than nothing.

If he could take Luffy along, he would. Alas he _cannot_ and they both know it far too well, so Luffy takes it upon himself to end their whirlwind teenage romance with a simple “Be safe”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to everyone who thought i'd keep this happy and corazon alive: bros. u should've seen this coming.


	8. Epilogue

Trafalgar Law sees Monkey D. Luffy exactly four years later, surrounded by dead bodies and putrid blood on his hands. He couldn’t mistake the kid – a man now, Law mentally corrects himself – for anyone else in the world, even in the darkness of the wiped out mansion. Luffy seems to share the sentiment because the moment he spots Law’s tall figure, he desperately leaps over the multiple crimson puddles decorating the cracked marble floor and then over the countless broken limbs to get to him on time. Luffy nearly tackles Law to the messy ground, squeezing the dear life out of him.

“I knew we’d meet again,” Luffy mumbles into his frosted shoulder, the black feathers of Law’s collar tickling his nose. “I knew.”

“Didn’t think it’d happen under these circumstances though,” Law confesses, scanning over the mess – a shattered chandelier of grand proportions, fucked up furniture and paintings, destroyed grand staircase, carnage. Searching for survivors and wary of possibly incoming back up.

Luffy only hums in agreement, lean arms still wrapped up around him. Law can’t see the other very well but he looks exactly the same as he’d left him. Same height, same build, same hairstyle, same dark eyes. Same scar. No uniform robes, no golds in his reds. Luffy’s dressed in ratty muggle clothes, the soles of his old converse shoes dirty, sticking to the floor. “Yeah. I always thought that I’d run into you while I was sick or something. You still do that?”

“Not officially,” Law noses at the kid’s black, silken strands, a tattooed hand gingerly cupping the back of Luffy’s slim neck and he feels slightly more alive than he has in _years._

Luffy doesn’t ask any more questions and Law doesn’t ask anything in return – it’s pretty clear that they both had a good reason for being here tonight. Perhaps they could even catch up.

He knows that he will unavoidably pull at some scabs and poke at countless still-bleeding wounds intentionally or not but it’s all in the era that they currently live in. The era of chaos and revolution.

“Come with me,” Luffy beckons. “We’ve some time to spare. I wanna talk to you.”

Law takes the offered hand and Luffy raises his wand, _Disappariting_ them into some unknown, possibly secret location.

* * *

 

“Zoro and the rest would’ve loved to see you again,” Luffy says and takes Law upstairs, through the dingiest staircase that looks like it’s about to fall apart upon touch. The entire place smells of dust and mold and it clearly serves as a temporary hideout to Luffy and his small team of vigilantes. Calling them vigilantes at this point would be rather stupid – everyone knew about Straw Hat Luffy and his chaotic deeds. Even more so than they did about The Surgeon of Death.

“Out on a mission?”

“Yeah. I finished up with Sabo there.”

Law wants to ask but wisely doesn’t. Luffy closes the creaking door behind them while Law sits down on the creaky cot, placing the bloodied Kikoku by his side and then inspecting the peeling yellow wallpapers. He’d expected something even worse – honestly he had half a mind to look for Luffy in either forests or mountains. He didn’t think it’d be possible for him to sneak into a city without causing a major riot from muggles and wizards alike.

No less one of Joker’s infamous mansions – the place where they met as Law executed half of its inhabitants, creating a diversion for the Revoliutonaries. They got their files, Law got his money – to be honest the exchange was pretty damn successful, going without a hitch. And they left him a little present behind too.

Unfortunately, the bastard scientist that he’s been tracking down for weeks now has managed to slip away, barely escaping from Law’s “room” and his blade, swung with a certain kind of purpose – Law needs to get revenge for what that Clown fucker did to Flevance. For dooming those countless lives, his family’s included. For leaving those ugly, PTSD-inducing scars on Law’s body, for his childhood trauma.

Law stiffens up and firmly shakes his head, deciding to save the regrets for later. Right now, Luffy is far more important.

He wonders whether their unexpected encounter had anything to do with Sabo pulling some strings and then contacting Luffy about it.

Luffy whips out the food and Law refuses, fondly observing the other. Like this, it almost feels as though they’re back at Hogwarts. Like they’re back in the good old days when everything was still peaceful and the wizardry world wasn’t submerged in a never-ending war which seemingly brought nothing but loss.

The moment they publically executed Portgas D. Ace without a fair trial, charged with incomprehensible, insane things, the world turned to complete and utter shit and Luffy was only one part of the ensuing chaos, one _tiny_ part fighting against the reign of the government and its supporters for the sake of getting stronger, avenging his brother and, naturally, overthrowing the said government.

In this war there was no right or wrong.

Law just wanted to see the world burn to the ground and enter the new dawn, slowly working towards that goal, carefully dismantling Joker’s business from the outside.

Luffy talks a lot, mouth full, just like Law remembers. He tells him about the others, how they’re fairing, how involved they are in this fight, their dedication to Luffy’s cause. Tells him about his remaining brother and about the new allies he’s made. Law listens, content, and Luffy observes his serene expression.

“Something is different about you,” the latter states and sits on the bed next to Law, leaving no space between them.

Law raises an eyebrow. He doesn’t mind it. “Like what?”

“Not sure,” Luffy shrugs and reaches out, hands going straight for Law’s jaw. “Just a hunch.”

“Maybe I’m just glad to see you,” he confesses and he _yearns_ for the hesitant touch that Luffy won’t give. His hands uselessly hover in the air as if he’s trying to decide the best course of action. “Considered that, Straw hat?”

“Thought you wanted me to back off, actually,” Luffy says, a little sheepish. “Otherwise, I could’ve found you a long time ago, I think. I already gave you this many years, you know!”

“It’s good that you didn’t look for me before now,” Law shakes his head because it’s true. He’s been stuck… in a bit of tight spot. He’s been depressed, angry, went through all stages of grief, of denial and then some and Luffy would’ve only made it all worse with his innocent presence, would’ve ended up leaving regardless. “You would’ve been disappointed.”

“I would’ve brought you out of your slump?”

“Not likely,” Law says, honest. “I had to do this on my own.”

“That’s all in the past then,” Luffy smiles - this time, oh thank god, genuine. Law likes it so much more. “And I wanna be with you here now. Don’t really care about later, as long as you remember me afterwards,” he finally makes up his mind and pulls Law’s face down, closes his eyes and then rests his head against Law’s cool forehead.

Law doesn’t think he’d ever be able to forget this _kid_ even if he sometimes really wants to. Luffy’s left too big of an impact on him to be easily discarded, in the same way Corazon had left his. He doesn’t tell Luffy any of that, silently enjoying the warmth.

He still has those pesky feelings of his and it seems that Luffy is stuck in a similar situation.

“What are you doing?” Law asks with a laugh and Luffy smiles a little, happy. Law’s back finds the wall the same way Luffy’s long legs find his lap, sitting down on it. A bit reluctant, Law rests his hands on Luffy’s sides and relishes in the feeling of comfort the small action provides.

“Shh, I’m memorizing.”

“My face?”

“Mmm,” the kid hums, eyelashes now fluttering against the skin of Law’s cheeks. “Face, scent, voice, everything. Gotta remember just in case.”

“You think you will forget?” Law wonders, offhandedly. A little embarrassed – it’s been years, he’s no longer used to careful treatment. Lord knows that he hasn’t been doing any “careful treatment” himself. But as Luffy says it, it’s all in the past. All those people never mattered, not in the way Luffy did, those desperate encounters leaving Law empty and numb afterwards. Right now, he feels like a precious thing instead of a dirty rag robbed of joy and wrung of will to move on, will to live. Luffy’s sunny presence heals him, if only a little, and perhaps this is what he needs right now. Therapy.

“No,” the kid says, “Too important for me to do something like that. Love you, Traffy.”

“Same here,” is the natural reply and Law bridges the distance between them.

* * *

 

“We have very different goals, you and I,” Law announces after their time inevitably runs out and he forces himself to leave, noiselessly stepping outside. However this time around, their parting doesn’t pain him in the slightest – instead, it somehow feels _hopeful_. Like Law won’t have to question himself or Luffy’s feelings ever again. Perhaps one day everything will work out for them and they’ll be able to allow themselves this luxury – their bizarre, mutually-cherished relationship.

Law isn’t foolishly _noble_ like the other and he doesn’t wish to make the world a better place. While Luffy’s driven by hurt and his loss, Law’s busy focused on spite and blind rage. On revenge, on fulfilling Corazon’s shattered hopes and dreams. But there are times when even _Law_ dreams.

Of a new home in Dressrosa with sunflowers growing in the backyard. Of peaceful mornings and a welcoming presence in his bed.

He wouldn’t terribly mind living together with Luffy.

“I would like to see you again,” Law shyly continues, lowering the fluffy hat over his dull gray eyes. He’s asking for too much, he knows it well. Doesn’t mean that he can stop himself. “If it’s possible.”

Luffy stares, dumbfounded, for no more than a few heartbeats before grinning, eyes crinkling and tanned cheeks dimpling. “You will. That’s not even a question,” he reassures like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. To him, it most likely is. “While we’re heading in different directions, I think that our goals are going to intersect eventually. And once they do, we’re gonna fight together,” he hits a curled fist against his hard chest, gaze determined. “I’ll give you my life, Traffy, and I want you to give me yours in return, alright?”

Law swallows around the ever-growing ball of nerves lodged in his throat, hand tightening around Kikoku, its sheath sticky with drying blood. “That sounds an awful lot like a proposal, Straw hat.”

Luffy says nothing to that, only continues staring, waiting for Law’s answer.

With a shuddering sigh, Law nods, carefully choosing his next words. “Very well. From now on, I’ll be entrusting my life to you, Luffy.”

“Good,” the kid nods in approval and his stiff pose relaxes, hands resting on his hips. “Now _go_ before I change my mind and decide to keep you here forever,” he produces a highly distressed sound, running calloused fingers over coal-black strands, “Ugh! It’s already so hard for me to let you leave like this! Stay out of trouble, Traffy.”

“Will do,” Law promises and this time he truly means it, smile wide to the point his cheeks begin hurting. He hardly recalls the last time he felt this _light_. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you,” Luffy says with an energetic wave and a soft smile carving his face. It’s the last thing Law sees right before _Disappariting_ , the cautious hope for a better tomorrow finally blooming inside his chest, gradually filling the void gaping in his broken heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end!!
> 
> Now, I'm no good with closing notes, but I feel like a proper one is in order since this fic is my child and I love it dearly. Special thanks to my wife yotrashkid for betaing and providing me with ideas and many many thanks to all of you, my wonderful readers! Thanks for the kind comments and kudos! 
> 
> I hope my ending message was clear! It's never about the time and the place - in the end what matters is how you feel. 
> 
> Some trivia that I couldn't fit into the fic: the Strawhats are all unregistered animagi, that's why they can allow themselves to move around without being noticed. They're ravens. Luffy is still really upset that Nami wouldn't let him be a big gorilla.  
> Sengoku collects the photos from Law's old home. Honestly, that child doesn't care about his belongings at all! Later on, he returns them to Law.  
> A parting gift for you: https://imgur.com/a/3qWuw
> 
> Again, thanks for reading!!!! <3


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